A Strange Pikachu in a Strange Land
by SecretEngima
Summary: On an undiscovered island, mysterious disasters cause a group of young Pokemon to start a Rescue Team. During their adventures, they discover that the Guardian is missing and set off to the mainland to find him, unaware of the dangers that await. My first story please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue: Survival**

Lightning flashed across the sky like fingers of blue doom and thunder pounded through the air. The huge black clouds mercilessly chased the wind, causing it to whip the sea into a frenzy of conflicting waves as it fled from the sharp stabs of electric fire. Nature warred with itself, oblivious to the tiny creature that fought vainly to survive in the crossfire.

Water roared all around her, deafening her highly tuned ears to even the clashing thunder above. The waves tossed her from one to the other, end over end, as if seeking to rob her of what little oxygen she still held in her lungs. Her legs, exhausted from hours of fighting, still feebly twitched and floundered in an attempt to reach the surface and air. Eyes squeezed shut by instinct, she thrashed and squirmed desperately, still fighting for the chance to survive that seemed ever farther out of reach.

The tiny creature finally managed to turn herself right-side up, only to have a huge wave snatch her from its nearby neighbor and carry her up onto its rearing crest. She broke the surface for one merciful split second and greedily gulped for air as the wave plunged downward and submerged her once again. Water flooded into her mouth before she could close it, constricting her lungs without pity. The will to survive began to weaken and panic set in, pumping one last burst of adrenaline into the veins of the storm's helpless victim. Her eyes snapped open and her tail began thrashing back and forth like a tiny paddle.

Blackness crept across her vision, threatening to still her attempts and allow the sea to claim her forever. Leaden limbs flailed in one last struggle for life, one last valiant battle against forces a thousand times more powerful than she. The waves pulled the creature deeper underwater. Down, down, until oxygen, light, and solid ground seemed like a forlorn myth and all that really existed was water. Constricting, unmerciful, unconquerable, water.

The tiny flicker of hope inside the creature died, her body went limp and her eyes slid shut again as bubbles escaped her mouth. The sea had won.

High above, thunder crashed and rolled as if just realizing what had happened and mourning the loss of such a brave being. At that second, lightning lashed out, stabbing downward into the depths of the dark, rain pounded waters. The waves exploded in all directions, fleeing from the violent energy. One of the waves crashed into a narrow cave burrowed in the cliffside of an island. As it retracted back into the sea, it left behind the limp body of the valiant creature who had fought so bravely.

The storm continued to rage for hours before finally exhausting itself and allowing the mist to rise under the watchful eye of the dawning sun. As the sun came up, it turned the now calm sea into a symphony of red, orange, gold, and purple colors. A long finger of sunlight worked its way into the cave, casting a golden glow on the still form that lay inside.

As the ray of sun continued to bathe the figure ... one ear feebly twitched. The brave sea fighter was alive.

** Chapter One: Strange Occurrences**

Castor Charmander of clan Charizard took a deep breath of the clean morning air, the flame on his tail tip flared brightly with energy and happiness. _Mornings after a big storm are always the best. The air has been washed clean by rain and not a cloud can be seen!_ Castor sat on his haunches on the wet green grass, making sure to keep his tail well away from the dewdrops as he admired the view.

From his perch on the high hill, Castor could see for miles. At the base of the hill was Nagai Kusa Village, a series of neat underground homes dug out by the Normal and Poison-types. From where he sat they looked like grassy bumps in a huge field connected by a winding dirt path. Just to the left of the village ran the broad, slow moving stream whose banks were home to the Water Pokemon who wished to settle in the village permanently.

Far off to his left, Meiro Woods stood tall and proud against the background of Kōken'nin Mountain, its dark green trees offering stark contrast to the soft green of the grass on which Castor sat. Looking to his right, he could just make out the hazy yellow and green of the scrubland of the Kasai Desert, home to the Dark, Ground, and Steel-types. If he turned all the way around, Castor was able to see the small but diverse Shimai Mountain, his original home. Finally, if he returned his gaze forward and concentrated, he could make out the glitter of the Endless Sea and the wall of mist that was ever present around the island.

Castor sighed, closed his eyes, and let the sunlight tinge the inside of his eyelids orange. It was early enough that many of the villagers where still asleep so Castor found himself blessed with silence, serenity, and solitude. He sighed happily, _nothing can go wrong on a day like this ... nothing!_

Deep in the ground, almost below the hearing range of a Pokemon, something rumbled. At first the sound was so faint that Castor wasn't even aware he had heard it, but as the morning wore on and the villagers of Nagai Kusa began their day with cheerful calls of 'hello!' and 'good morning!', the noise started to grow in volume.

Castor opened his eyes and looked around, _huh? What's that rumbling noise? Is an Onix coming to visit? But why would an Onix come here? If it was traveling as part of the Discovering, wouldn't it travel overland?_ "Hey, Cast! Are you going to sit up there all day?" Castor looked down the hill to see Cora Squirtle of Clan Blastoise, his best friend, trotting steadily up the hill.

Castor waved absentmindedly and resumed looking around, the rumbling was starting to make him nervous, "Oh, hey Cora. Do you hear that?"

Cora breasted the top of the hill and sat down to catch her breath. A few drops of sweat gleamed on her sky blue forehead and her shell, the same color as the grass, glinted brightly in the sun. She looked up at him curiously, "What's up Castor? I don't hear-" Castor shushed her and pressed the right side of his head to the ground. The rumbling was getting slowly louder and now he could faintly feel vibrations emanating from the soil.

Out of the corner of his eye, Castor saw Cora give him a weird look, shrug, than place one side of her head against the ground in an imitation of him. Her eyes widened, "I hear it too ... sounds like an Onix that's using Dig. Do you think one of them is coming to pay us a visit?"

Castor frowned and opened his mouth to disagree when the rumbling suddenly grew to a crescendo and the vibrations turned into violent shaking. With identical cries of surprise, Castor and Cora lost their balance and sprawled onto their stomachs, noses digging up small furrows in the dirt from the impact against the shuddering ground.

Castor gripped at some grass patches with his claws and yelled over the noise, "Earthquake! Hang on!"

Cora glared at him as she frantically clutched the ground, "No kidding, Chieftain Absol!" Castor lifted his head and looked over his shoulder, straining to see the village. Small dots of color were running back and forth crazily as villagers attempted to get to safe places without losing their balance.

Castor rested his chin on the ground and closed his eyes. Earthquakes, while not exactly common in this region of the island, were common enough that the Pokemon knew not to panic. They knew to simply find somewhere where there wasn't the risk of an imported flower pot falling on their head and hunker down, earthquakes never lasted more than a minute at the most.

A minute dragged on, than two, Castor was beginning to get bruises along his arms and stomach from the constant hammering of pebbles and he was squeezing the grass clumps so hard that his claws had punctured the blades and were digging into his paws. Three minutes passed and the rumbling hadn't shown any signs of lessening. _What is going on? The earthquake should have ended by now!_

Castor opened his eyes and looked into Cora's terrified ones, the thoughts shining in them was identical to his own, _something is terribly wrong. _Cora shouted over the sound of shaking earth, her voice sounded jittery and would have been comical in any other situation, "If this quake doesn't stop soon, serious damage will be done to the village!"

As if to punctuate the meaning of her words, screams of terror began to rise from below. Castor's heart pounded in fear and a sick feeling churned in his stomach, _the dens must be collapsing! Sekani will still be asleep at this hour! He will be buried alive!_ Castor blindly staggered to his feet, he had to do something!

Behind him he could hear Cora yelling as he stumbled down the hill, "Castor! Don't! Wait until the earthquake is over! You won't be able to help anybody if one of the dens collapses on you! **Castor**!"

The shudders underneath his feet grew even more violent and Castor felt his legs abruptly switch places with his head as to which was higher, "Whoa, whoa, **whoa**!" He tumbled end over end down the hill, his tail flame taking a terrible beating against the dirt and dewy grass. Pain exploded in his senses and his eyes squeezed shut as first his head, than his back, than his tail changed places with ever increasing speed as he bounced and rolled down the hill uncontrollably.

He finally crashed to a stop at the bottom of the hill, the ground was still quaking. From his position he could see that today was going to be a very bad day in the history Nagai Kusa Village. Pokemon were stumbling and crawling willy-nilly, trying to get away from the dens as they threatened to collapse. Everything was now shaking so hard that Castor could actually see the dens bouncing up and down.

Castor didn't register the startled squeal that came from above him, or the shadow that unfurled over him until something hard crashed onto his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs. The thing was shaken off of him by the still ongoing earthquake and landed heavily on his left side. He dazedly turned his head and stared at the reason for his sudden need for air.

Cora lay on the back of her shell, all four legs flailing wildly. Her eyes were wide with shock and fear and her mouth was open and gasping. Both of them lay there for the remainder of the earthquake, too scared and winded to move.

Far more suddenly than it had started, the earthquake stopped. Everything became deathly still, it was like nature itself was holding its breath, afraid to move lest another earthquake struck. Castor finally allowed himself a sigh of relief, it was over, after five minutes, the earthquake had passed. His teasing statement about how Cora needed to heed her own advice of 'staying put' died on his lips the moment he took a good look at the village.

It was ruined. Totally, utterly, ruined. Castor slowly stood up and looked all around, numbly taking in the full extent of the destruction. Den upon den was nothing more than a depression of rock and dirt. They had been dug deep to help resist earthquakes and typhoons, but obviously not deep enough.

Scattered all around, Pokemon lay, completely covered in dust and grime. Some of them were moaning in pain, the little ones were crying in terror as their parents shakily tried to soothe them. Castor's heart clenched when he realized that some of the little ones were sitting forlornly without their parents' comfort and that some parents were now wandering around, calling desperately for their hatchlings. He hoped fervently that these families had simply gotten separated during the mad scramble and that the parents would be at their hatchlings' sides soon.

Cora had righted herself and was now standing dazedly beside Castor, just as horrified at the destruction of their homes as he was. A tiny Vulpix kit ran frantically over to Castor, tears trickling from terrified eyes, her normally fluffy reddish fur turned a grimy dead brown, "P-please! Have you seen my Mama? I - I need my Mama!"

The cry for help snapped Castor out of his daze, he looked down at the tiny kit and recognized it to be one of Farrah's litter. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but no sound came out, his heart was beating too fast and he felt light headed. Cora stepped in, she gently hugged the Fire-type fox and rubbed its back with a paw, "Don't worry, little one! I'm sure your Mama is fine. Shush, it's okay, don't cry. We'll help you find your Mama."

The Vulpix's face lit up and she sniffled, "Really?"

Cora smiled, "Really and truly." Castor nodded in agreement and the three of them promptly set off through the village, looking and calling for the Vulpix's mother. Castor glanced around at the chaos and silently begged to no one in particular, _Oh please let her mother be all right!_

Twenty minutes passed, Castor had already spotted the ruins of his house and several villagers that he knew, but none of them were Farrah. Just as Castor was beginning to lose hope, he caught sight of nine waving, dusty white tails. He shouted excitedly and waved, "I see her! Farrah!"

A joyful cry exploded from the kit and she ran forward, "**Mama**!"

Farrah Ninetails' dusty head snapped around and her amber eyes lit up with joy, "Amia!" Mother, daughter and various siblings tearfully embraced, licking each other comfortingly and exclaiming how glad they were to find each other safe and sound.

Castor and Cora shared a tiny smile, crisis averted. _Now if only I could get my house back so Sekani won't complain about the lack of a mattress ..._ _Sekani!_ He whirled, "Cora! I haven't seen Sekani! We have to find him!"

Cora's eyes widened, "Oh shell, you're right! Come on, let's go check around your house!" The two Pokemon ran back to the depression of rubble that used to be his and Sekani's house.

Castor looked around frantically, "Sekani! Can you hear me, buddy? Answer me if you can!" Silence greeted his plea. All around, other Pokemon were digging into the rubble of their homes, trying to find survivors or to salvage whatever personal items that might have survived. _He must be trapped inside!_ Castor flung himself at the rubble and began digging, "Hold on, Sekani! I'm coming!"

Cora clambered next to him and took a deep breath, "Castor, I'm going to soften the dirt with WaterGun. That should make it easier!" Castor stepped to one side as water spouted out of Cora's mouth in a concentrated blast. Rocks, dirt and mud spattered in every direction and Castor did his best to keep his tail flame safe.

Castor felt a desperate hope flicker in his soul, _please be okay, Sekani ... please by alive._ Dirt and mud ceased to fly in all directions, something was stopping Cora's WaterGun from tunneling deeper. Cora's eyes were squeezed shut in concentration, she had just learned WaterGun two days ago and she still had difficulty using it instead of Bubble. She couldn't see that her WaterGun was no longer working.

Castor shouted to get her attention, "Hold it Cora!" The Squirtle opened her eyes and ceased spraying WaterGun. Castor carefully scrambled into the depression and examined the obstacle, it was a large rock that had originally been used as a wall support. Castor ran his paw gently over the rock, feeling the niches in it. _This was the rock that Sekani always marks for a successful prank! It was right outside his room!_

Castor and Cora thumped their paws hard against the rock several times. Castor yelled as loud as he could, "Sekani! Are you in there? Can you hear me? Thump the rock if you're alive!" The two worried friends pressed the sides of their heads against the rock and listened, not even daring to breathe. It seemed like an eternity for three weak thumps to sound from the other side of the rock.

Castor let out the breath that he'd been holding and felt his heart start beating again, _He's alive!_ Pressing his mouth against the rock, Castor shouted, "Don't worry, Sekani! We'll get you out of there! Just hold on a little bit longer!" Cora scrabbled to the top of the rock and surveyed how it was tilted.

She frowned, "I think this rock leaning on another support pillar, We should be able to tilt it without too much risk of hurting Sekani."

Castor scrambled onto the rock, braced his back against the side of the depression, and pushed with every fiber of his being. Cora joined him in pushing and the two grunted in exertion. Castor's bruised muscles protested loudly about the work and threatened to fail him as the Charmander gritted his teeth. _Come on, come on! Move already you stupid rock!_

His feet suddenly slipped out from under him and with a startled cry he slid gracelessly down its length to the mud at the bottom that promptly greeted his orange snout. He dragged himself out of the mud and spat out grit. Cora called down apologetically, "Sorry! My WaterGun attack must have made it too slippery for you to keep a grip!"

Castor glared at the rock, "We'll just see about that!" He sucked in a deep gulp of air, preparing to use his Ember attack.

"**Wait**!" A streak of brown flashed in the corner of his eye and tackled him to the muddy ground, the Ember attack shot uselessly into the excessively cheerful looking sky.

Castor shoved the mystery attacker off of him and shot to his feet, his tail flame leaping to twice its normal size with rage and baking the mud on his tail instantly. "What are you doing?" he howled, "My friend is trapped in there and I'm trying to get him out before he suffocates!"

The brown streak stood up and revealed itself to be an Eevee. A package of adaptability wrapped up in smooth brown fur with long slender ears, a cream tipped puffy tail and a fluffy cream collar-like ruff, Eevee's often traveled the island to see the many different types of Pokemon before deciding which of their possible seven forms to evolve into.

The Eevee studied Castor with aggravatingly calm brown eyes. The stranger's voice was surprisingly mature for his tiny stature as he spoke, "Do you want to free your friend, or bake him into a mud cake? Rocks absorb heat, Charmander. If you used Ember on the rock, it would not only dry the rock, it would heat up the rock to the point where any air left under there would heat to the point of being unbreathable. You'd kill your friend within minutes."

Castor felt despair flood his heart, "Then what do I do? I can't leave him and the rock is too slippery for me to help Cora push!" The Eevee looked around, his ears twitching thoughtfully.

Brown eyes swept from the rock, to the ground, left to right, and finally to Cora. He nodded to himself firmly, "That will work. You, Squirtle! Get down here, quickly." Cora blinked a few times and then jumped down.

She cocked her head to one side, "Yeah?"

The Eevee bounded over to the left side of the rock and dipped one of his back legs to the ground, he then dragged his leg in a straight line away from the rock. Stepping away from the line, he straightened calmly, "I need you to use WaterGun right on that line. Make a trench as deep as you can manage without curving the sides." Cora looked from the Eevee to the rock to the line before nodding and running to the far end of the line.

He turned to Castor, "After she digs the trench, use Ember to bake the trench hard. But be careful to leave the first two feet of the trench closest to the rock untouched, it needs to be slick underneath the left edge of that rock for my plan to work."

Castor blinked and used one of his paws to block the spraying mud from Cora's WaterGun, "Uh, okay ... but do you mind telling me how exactly your plan will save my friend?"

The Eevee nodded, "Certainly, your Squirtle is blasting a guiding trench and you are going to harden the length of it. This will make sure that the rock won't fall on us when I knock it loose with a Tackle attack."

Castor stared at him in surprise, _Wow._ "Um, not that I mind at all, but why are you helping us?"

The Eevee was watching Cora work as he answered, "Because."

Castor frowned, "Because? Because what?"

Deep brown eyes suddenly stared into his, "Because no one should have to die slowly, chained by life so that they suffer endlessly before passing before their time. Besides, I want to help."

Cora trotted up to them, "Morbid, much? Castor, you're up, I finished the trench." Castor ran eagerly to the trench. He studied the muddy channel, _okay, leave some of the channel untouched so it will slide properly._ Castor placed his back cautiously against the rock and straddled the ditch. He took a deep breath, feeling the fire on his tail flair brightly as he gathered heat and power.

Small bullet-like projectiles of flame hammered the trench, drying the mud quickly enough to send up a cloud of steam. Castor had barely finished closing his mouth when Cora cried out a warning, "The Eevee is going to use Tackle! Castor, get out of the way!" Castor lunged to side and crashed onto the ground just as the mystery Eevee got into the right position and charged.

As the Eevee charged he roared, "Adaptability!" At the last second, he twisted in the air so that his shoulder, instead of his head, smashed into the rock. A loud groan sounded through the air as the rock slowly tilted to one side. The Eevee had rebounded off the rock and fallen onto his side, panting.

Castor whirled to Cora, "Hurry Cora! The rock is almost loose! Help me tackle it!" The two Pokemon ran to the right side of the rock and flung themselves at it. Castor winced, he had never learned how to use Tackle attack and so he didn't know the special technique required to smash against a rock without injuring himself.

The rock leaned a little more but still didn't give, _my tail must have hardened the trench when I used Ember without my noticing!_ The Eevee was suddenly by his side, panting heavily, "Come on, if we hit it all together one more time ... it should break loose."

Castor briefly wondered why the Eevee seemed so out of breath from one Tackle Attack but his thoughts cut off abruptly at the sound of a small voice coming from behind the rock, "Yo, you guys are doing great out there but if its no trouble, **hurry up**! I feel like I'm folded nine different ways in here!"

Castor's tail flame flared briefly with joy, "Sekani! You **are** alive! Hold on! We've almost got you out!" Glancing over at Cora and the Eevee, the three shared a determined look and backed up as far as they could.

Castor inwardly hoped the healer's den had survived the earthquake because this was going to hurt. All three of them shouted at the same time, "One, two, three!" and charged. They all hit the rock at the same time. With a loud cracking noise, the rock pillar tilted over and crashed into the trench. The three Pokemon had rebounded off the rock and were sprawled out on the ground, watching in surprise. They hadn't actually thought that their plan would work.

A hushed silence fell on the rescuers as they sat on the ground and panted. After a moment's pause, Sekani Aipom of clan Ambipom crawled out of the newly made exit to his would-be grave. The monkey-like Pokemon coughed, stretched, felt himself all over with the three-fingered hand on his tail, and gave a loud cheer. Pumping one small paw in air, the grime covered former-victim whooped, "I'm alive! I knew I was too handsome to die! It sure took you guys long enough!"

Cora rolled her eyes and muttered sarcastically, "I can see that this whole thing has left him **so** grateful and humbled."

From above, two voices shouted, "Hey, are you guys all right? Do you need any help down there?" Castor looked up at the concerned Rattata twins peering down and standing a short distance away at the edge of the depression that used to be his den.

_And now the dirt-loving twins show up ... of course._ Castor sighed and called up to them with false cheerfulness, "We're fine! We've got everything taken care of, thanks anyway!" The two Rattata looked at each other, shrugged and trotted off to see if anyone else needed help.

Castor, Cora, and the Eevee stood up and shook themselves off. Sekani was too busy dancing around happily to really notice the stranger as he cheered for his friends, "Great going, Cast, Cora! I'm free! I thought I was a goner for a minute there!" He abruptly stopped dancing and blinked at Castor, "Say, what gave you the idea to knock the rock sideways into a trench?"

Cora spoke up, "It wasn't our idea, Sekani," she motioned to the stranger with her paw, "this Eevee showed up out of nowhere and helped us get you out. He was the one who came up with the plan." Sekani stared at the Eevee as if he had just teleported to Cora's side instead of having been standing there quietly the whole time.

The small brown Pokemon smiled shyly, "Hi, I suppose I should introduce myself." He tilted his head and left front leg downward in a small bow, "I am Dale Eevee of the Eeveelution clans. I was going to stop here on my Discovering when the earthquake hit and I'm just glad I could help."

Castor, Cora and Sekani bowed at the waist in return. Castor smiled at Dale, "It's nice to meet you, Dale. Thanks for helping us." The Eevee smiled back timidly and shifted his position clumsily. Castor blinked, Dale's stance seemed off somehow. His eyes trailed down Dale's body. His new friend was balanced carefully, his front legs spaced farther apart the normal for an Eevee.

Castor's eyes trailed down to Dale's hindquarters and the reason for Dale's earlier shortness of breath and current stance became painfully clear. His right rear leg, the one he had used to draw the trench guide line, hung twisted and useless. The paw was curled tightly inward and the main leg joint was permanently bent, forever ensuring that its owner would never be able to place weight of any kind on it.

Cora gasped, she had spotted Dale's leg as well, "Your leg!"

Dale glanced at his leg and then back at Cora, he shrugged softly, "What about it?"

Castor's jaw dropped, _what about it? He sounds like Cora commenting about the weather!_ He stammered in surprise, "It ... it..." he clamped his jaw shut to stop himself from saying anything insensitive.

Sekani, however, was not so discreet, "How did you pull off a Tackle Attack with that leg?" He blurted. Cora stamped hard on his paw for being rude, making him yelp loudly.

Dale smiled softly, "Its okay, Squirtle. My leg has been this way since I was a hatchling. I'm used to Pokemon saying stuff like that."

Castor coughed slightly, "Sorry about Sekani's manners, he's like this all the time. I'm Castor, this is Cora, and you already know grimy-fur's name over here."

Sekani swatted Castor with his tail hand, "Don't look now, Matchstick, but you aren't exactly a newly washed egg yourself."

Dale giggled a little bit at Sekani's quip and motioned his head to the lip of the depression just above them, "Nice to meet you all, sorry it had to be under these circumstances. Maybe we should climb out of this thing and check on the rest of your village." Cora and Castor murmured in agreement while Sekani muttered something about it 'being too early in the morning for this kind of thing' and climbed out of the remains of Castor and Sekani's home.

Castor inwardly marveled at his new friend's dexterity. Despite a useless rear leg, Dale jumped out with an easy grace and surprising speed. He promptly set about making himself useful to the other villagers in need.

The four young creatures spent the rest of the day making themselves useful, helping families to find missing loved ones, digging into former dens to check for anything that might have survived the quake, and even aiding the kind-hearted Healer Miltank, whose den/herb shop had miraculously remained standing, in treating and bandaging the injured.

Since Sekani was untouched other than being utterly filthy and having a nick in one ear, he made himself useful by using his Sand Attack ability to speed up the excavation process. Dale also proved surprisingly competent at kicking the soil loosened by Cora's WaterGun out of the way by using his front legs and tail as a 'tripod' so his good back leg could preform Sand Attack.


	2. Chapter 2

**Review response: Dear AliceBaskervile123, thank you for the lovely review! I am thrilled to know that you enjoy my story. I will try to update at least once a week. **

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**Chapter Two: **

**New Friendships**

Cora contentedly swam in the stream to cool off as Dale, Castor, and Sekani munched happily on some poffins that Healer Miltank had baked with Castor's help. The morning had worn off into a hot afternoon and a break had been called, so now the four Pokemon were off to themselves enjoying the well deserved breakfast they hadn't gotten a chance to eat that morning.

Small, round, and slightly puffy, the treats were sweet and filling to the hungry friends. Dale dangled his tail into the water, letting it get thoroughly soaked before removing it and shaking it vigorously in the direction of Sekani. Sekani squealed, his voice high and clear enough to put a Jigglypuff to shame and attempted to shield his poffin from the assault, getting well splattered with water in the process. Sputtering in surprise at the sudden attack, Sekani shook his poffin at Dale, "What was that for? You could have ruined my food!"

Dale was giggling too hard to answer, his back on the ground and his three good legs waving wildly in the air. Castor gasped for air between peels of laughter, barely able to keep from rolling off the bank and into the stream. Even Cora, a member of a naturally aquatic species, was having trouble staying above the water because she was laughing so hard.

Sekani blinked, "What in trees is so funny? He could have ruined my poffin with that water! His tail is dirty!"

Castor sat up, wiping tears from his blue eyes, "Sorry, its just ... you sounded like a newly hatched Igglypuff, Sekani!"

Cora slapped the water with her paws happily, "Yeah! Can your squeal go any higher?"

Sekani muttered under his breath and chomped on the last of his poffin, "Some friends I have. Trying to ruin a hard earned breakfast."

Dale stretched out on his stomach and placed his head on his front paws, "Sorry, Sekani ... I'm not sure what came over me. I hope I didn't ruin your meal."

Sekani blushed a little bit, probably ashamed of having made such a fuss over a bit of water, "No, it's okay. That was a really awesome prank now that I think about it. I guess that cave-in shook me up more than I thought if I can't take a joke."

All four Pokemon suddenly went quiet, their thoughts turned grim. Cora looked down at the clear blue liquid flowing around her as she bobbed gently, one paw gripping the bank as an anchor. She spoke quietly, "Even with all of the villagers working together, it will take weeks, probably months to rebuild and repair all the dens."

Castor nodded solemnly, over half of the dens had collapsed and the rest had been severely damaged. Even Healer Miltank's stone home was looking a bit shaky. "If only we had some Diglett or Dugtrio living here ... they would be able to rebuild everything in days. Probably make the dens better than before."

Dale thoughtfully washed one of his front paws, "Its not like your dens were poorly built, Castor. I've never heard of an earthquake that bad before today. I was about a mile outside of the village when it hit and even out there it was really strong. It also lasted for a record time."

Cora clambered onto the shore and plopped down next to Dale, "A mile out? How did you get to the village so fast?" She blushed, suddenly realizing what that sounded like and hurriedly apologized.

Dale flashed a smile at her and continued to wash his paw, "It's fine. Like I said before, Pokemon ask questions like that wherever I go. Some of them can't believe that I get around so well ... until I outrun them in a race."

Sekani slapped his tail-hand against the side of his head in surprise, "You race?"

Dale nodded, "Yep, sometimes win them too. Just because I have a bum leg doesn't mean I have the inkling or even the right to lay around all day. If anything, I should be even more active than if I had four good legs."

Castor blurted out the question that popped into his head before he lost the nerve to, "Why do you think that? I mean, doesn't it make more sense to take it just a touch easier if you have three legs rather than four?"

Dale used his wet paw to scrub one ear as he answered, "Not at all. I may not have the usual number of legs for an Eevee, but legs aren't the only important things for a Pokemon to have. I have strong eyes, a keen sense of smell, I can hear things others would miss, my teeth are sharp, and so is my mind. I can get around just fine on three legs, so a fourth would have simply been a pleasant bonus."

Sekani clapped wildly, "You go, Dale!" the Aipom promptly danced a congratulatory jig around his new buddy.

Cora rubbed her chin thoughtfully "I never thought about like that, Dale," she lightly patted Castor on the shoulder, "and you should be one to ask, Castor. You're one leg less than he is when it comes to walking or running!"

Castor grinned sheepishly, it was true after all. Charmanders were bipedal by nature and only ran on all four when they had too. It was simply more comfortable because of how their bodies were built. "I don't count, Cora," he muttered mock sullenly, "I'm **supposed** to walk on two legs, all members of the Charizard clan are." All four laughed, temporarily forgetting their grim mood.

When they couldn't hold off going back to work, they all got up and began to trudge back to the main worksite. Just as they reached it, a sad thought popped back into Castor's head, _it really is a pity that we don't have any Dugtrio living in the village. Even a single Diglett could probably cut the rebuilding time in half. But the only sure place to find them is Kasai Desert. Wait!_ He stopped dead as an idea took form in his mind. His tail began to quiver with excitement and his face split into a toothy grin. Cora gently placed a paw on his shoulder, "Hey, are you okay?"

Castor had to put out an effort not to shout from excitement "I just got an idea on how we can cut the rebuilding effort from months to mere days!" Instantly, his friends were paying rapt attention to him.

Sekani bounced from one foot to the other and began babbling at the prospect of less work, "How, how? You have a plan? Oh man, I love it already! What does it involve? How can you be so sure it will work? Does-"

Cora sucked in air and sprayed the chattering monkey with WaterGun. Sekani shrieked at the cold water. Cora stopped spraying and placed her paws on her hips, "Will you be quiet? I'd like to actually hear Castor's plan." Sekani fell sulkily silent, but was now paying rapt attention again.

Castor nodded thanks to Cora and started explaining, "Thanks Cora. Anyway, I was just thinking about how some Dugtrio would be able to half the rebuilding time of the dens and how it was a pity that none lived here. Then it hit me," he spread his paws wide for effect, "why not go to where they live and ask them for help!"

Sekani deadpanned at him, "You can't be serious." He reached over and felt Castor's forehead with one paw and his own forehead with the other, "How hot is your forehead supposed to be compared to mine? Do you have fever or a concussion?"

Castor swatted Sekani's paw away, "I am perfectly fine and dead serious! We could use some members of clan Dugtrio and we'll never get them unless someone goes to their home and asks!"

Cora shook her head, "Cast, the only sure place to find clan Dugtrio would be their Home Den hidden somewhere inside the Kasai Desert caves! The trip just to get there could take up to four weeks and then we'd have to navigate the caves, find them, ask them, and then there's only a small chance that they would help us. That is a lot of traveling and danger for such a small chance Castor, it would be better if we stay here and help."

Castor frowned, he had expected Cora to be a little bit skeptical, but Sekani was usually much more adventurous. He folded his arms over his chest, "What happened to your adventurous spirit, Sekani! The Dugtrio clan is known for being friendly and industrious, the chance of them helping isn't small at all! Besides what's a few weeks of travel for us when it could cut down on months of the village young ones having to live out in the open!"

Cora rubbed the back of her head thoughtfully, "I know that Castor ... but the Dugtrio will want something in return for their help. You can't just go to their home and expect them to help you for no reason!"

Dale suddenly spoke up "The soil, that's how you would pay them."

Castor looked over at Dale, "What do you mean?"

Dale motioned to the village with a nod of his head, "I mean that the Dugtrio spend their lives in the dirt, the softer and more fertile the better. In fact, I was shocked to learn that none of them had moved here what with how soft the field soil is."

Cora shrugged, "That's because Shimai Mountain has good soil and is closer to them. I also hear that it has a couple of caves just perfect for Rock-types. Another detraction is the fact that the West River lies between us and them. Why bother trying to come here when Shimai is closer and can be reached without the hassle?"

Dale nodded, "Ah, that makes sense. But still, if we went there and asked for help, they might agree because of how soft and rich the soil is here. All we would have to do is find a way for them to cross the river without getting wet."

Sekani waved his tail frantically, "What do you mean '**all** we would have to do is find a way for them to cross the river without getting wet'? Am I the only one who realizes how hard that would be? You wouldn't be able to do that unless you built a dam and none of you guys know how to do that!"

Dale answered with an almost unnerving calm, "I'm sure that together, we would think of something. It will easier to make a successful plan when we can see the situation with our own eyes." Sekani muttered something about that making sense before he froze, Castor was sure he heard an actual click sound come from inside his friend's head.

Sekani jumped straight into the air with a yelp, "Hey! What do you mean by 'we' Eevee? You can't possibly mean to go! Check that, you can't possibly mean to imply that I am going with you! Because I am not!"

Castor looked between Sekani and Dale, "So, you mean you'll go with me Dale?"

Dale nodded firmly, "I will, Castor. I needed to go to the Kasai desert on my Discovering anyway. I might as well help you while I'm doing it."

Cora smiled, "If you really think it would work ... then I guess I'm in too! I can't let the two of you go wandering around the island without me. Plus, if it does work, it would be really good for the whole valley."

Sekani flung his paws in the air, "You are all nuts! Now I suppose you're going to want me to come along!" Castor and Cora skewered Sekani with a united glare that made him visibly squirm, "Stop glaring at me like that! I have a right to be a bit of a coward after what happened this morning..."

Dale straightened, padded over to Sekani and stared him dead in the eye, "Just because you had troubles this morning does not give you the right to desert your friends. Your skill set would be most useful on the trip." He cocked his head to one side smugly, "But if the incident that happened today is truly your excuse, than it is my duty as your new friend to help you get over your fears."

He stamped a paw firmly on the ground, "I claim your loyalty as is my right earned by saving your life. You must follow me wherever I go until I deem your debt repaid or I die," he smirked at the open mouthed Sekani, "and I am going with them."

Castor found himself just as shocked, even though Dale was correct in his right to Sekani's loyalty, he hadn't really thought the laid back Eevee would claim it. Sekani sputtered, "But ... but ... you can't! I don't!" He sighed and his shoulders slumped, "Oh, **fine**. I'll come ... but I'm not going to like it."

Castor gently patted Sekani's shoulder, "Don't take it so hard, buddy. This will be fun, I'm sure." He turned to his other friends, "Okay, let's get some supplies together. Cora, remember how you mentioned once that you'd found Akos weed in the stream? I want you to grab as much as you think we'll need. Sekani? I need you to go to Healer Miltank's den and grab some of those woven bags she gives out to those on their Discovering."

He turned to Dale, "You're with me, when Sekani gets back with those bags, we need to have a pile of berries waiting for them."

Dale nodded, "Understood, what kind of berries are we looking for?"

Castor took off for the fields surrounding Nagai Kusa Village with Dale on his heels, ignoring the odd looks and whispers he was getting from the hard working residents who wanted to know why their native Charmander would suddenly slack off and leave. As they went, Castor answered Dale's question, "Any kind really, there are lots of different ones growing around here and all of them are useful one way or another."

The two Pokemon spent the next hour gathering as many berries as they thought they would need from the now fallen trees scattered here and there across the open grasslands. Cora and Sekani soon joined them, having acquired what Castor had asked for. Working together, the four friends soon had a healthy but modest pile of Cheri, Pecha, Rawst, Persim and Sitrus berries at their feet.

Sekani began to carefully divide the pile into four equal piles and place those inside the four woven grass satchels. He looked nervously at the satchels, "Are you sure that's enough berries, Castor? The Kasai Caves aren't exactly next door. Maybe we should pick some more..."

Castor shook his head firmly and gently slung his bag crossways on his shoulders, "No, those are just to ensure we make it till we find another berry patch. If we pick enough berries to last the whole trip then there will be none left for the families that live here."

Cora mimicked him with her bag and looked over in the direction of her life-long home, "I find it really hard to believe that we're just going to up and leave ... I feel like there should be more steps and complications to leaving the only place one's ever known..."

Dale stood still as Sekani cleverly fastened the long strap of the satchel in a way that kept the bag firmly on the Eevee's back so it wouldn't hinder his movements. Dale hesitantly nuzzled his new Squirtle friend, "It's okay, you aren't leaving forever. You'll be back in a few weeks with enough Diglett to rebuild your home a dozen times over."

Cora smiled gratefully at Dale, causing a weird twitch to form in Castor's chest, _Cora usually doesn't let anyone but me or Sekani nuzzle her and then under protest. She always wants to be the one to initiate a nuzzle or hug. But Dale just did it and she didn't seem to mind in the least. We haven't even spent a full day with him and already it seems like we've known him all of our lives._

Castor mentally shook away the twitch, it was nothing, Cora was simply glad to get advice from someone who had already started his Discovering. He raised his right paw into the air and waved his tail like a flag, "Let's get started guys. The sooner we get going the sooner we will be back." The others all lifted a paw, or tail in Dale's case, in agreement and without saying goodbye or looking back, set off to find clan Dugtrio.


	3. Chapter 3

**Review response: Dear Eevee-Snivy, I am flattered you enjoy my story so much! I wrote this story for NaNoWriMo which stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal of the writing challenge was to write 50,000 words during the month of November. I reached my word goal five days before the thirtieth but have yet to finish the entire story. Thank for the lovely review.**

** Dear AliceBaskervile123, Thank you! I have worked very hard on this story and am pleased you continue to enjoy it.**

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**Chapter Three: First Journey**

"Can we please take a lunch break, now?" Castor rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh at Sekani's whine. _By the Guardian! I know Sekani has good qualities ... so why can't he show them more often instead of being so annoying?_

Castor ground his teeth together, knowing that Sekani was only whining because he was bored and knew it would spark an interesting reaction from his fiery friend, "For the hundredth time, **no**. We aren't going to stop till we reach Otachi Town! So stop asking before I use Ember on you."

Sekani suddenly popped out of the tall grass in front of Castor with a loud, "Why not?" Castor yelled in surprise and instinctively sent scorching embers flying from his mouth at his 'attacker'. Sekani squealed as one landed on his forehead and ignited into a minuscule flame.

He frantically began running in circles and slapping at it, "Help! I'm burning! I'm going to become roasted Aipom and my beautiful, handsome, fetching face will be utterly disfigured and I'll never find a lovely Pokemon to mate with me because they'll all run in terror at my horrible flame-scarred face and my life will be ruined forever and ever and-"

Castor calmly sidestepped for the WaterGun attack he knew was coming. The blast of freezing blue water nailed Sekani full in his face and sent him spinning into the air with a gurgling yell. The overdramatic purple furred monkey landed several feet away on his bum, a tiny trail of steam rising from his forehead where the ember had landed.

Sekani sat up and began to sulk, "That was overboard, Cora. Using a full power WaterGun on me, now my fur is soaking!"

Cora snorted, "Really? From the way you were screaming I would have thought that there was an island wide inferno. Besides, I needed to soak the ground and make sure that none of Castor's flaming little friends set this whole field on fire."

Dale climbed off of the rock he'd been using as a lookout and was obviously working to keep the chuckle out of his voice, "Technically this field is too healthy to catch on fire from a mere Ember attack. The moisture stored in the grass would prevent the fire from igniting more than a few blades before dying out. However, Sekani's scream **was** impressive."

Sekani took turns glaring at them, "Yeah, hilarious. I'm so glad that my pain has given you such pleasure. Can we have lunch now?"

Castor patted his friend's head, "When you put it that way ... no, not until we reach Otachi Town." Sekani began to wail as they walked until Cora threatened to use WaterGun on him again. After this threat, he set about sulking silently, attempting to discourage the laughter and talk among the other three with his miserable looks.

When this failed, Sekani scampered off into the grass without a word. Dale stopped and looked around, "Where did Sekani go off too?" His ears drooped, "I hope we didn't drive him off ... perhaps we teased him too much."

Castor shook his head, "Nah, he's simply hiding somewhere in the hopes that I'll relent and call a lunch break."

Dale looked around, "Is he really that hungry?" Cora snorted at the thought.

Castor shook his head, "No, he's just bored and hopes that if he complains enough he'll spark an interesting reaction from one of us to relieve his boredom."

Dale narrowed his eyes, "Is that so?" Without another word he vanished into the tall grass. Several minutes passed without a sound from either of the two missing travelers. Castor and Cora stopped walking and looked around. _Where did he go?_

A loud thump sounded off to their left and was quickly followed by Sekani's unmistakable yelp of outrage "Hey!" The Aipom ran into view, whirled and curled his tiny purple front paws into fists, "What was that for you crazy Eevee?"

Dale jumped into view, a smile playing on his lips, "Castor said you were bored, so I challenge you to a practice fight." As he spoke, Dale wiggled out of his satchel's strap and laid it on the ground gently

Sekani flexed his tail and flung his satchel to one side, "Fine, if that's the way you want it!" He spun around and began kicking at the dirt with his cream colored back paws, sending a SandAttack straight at Dale. Dale leaped to one side, shook the dirt and grass out of his fur, and took off running. The three legged Eevee became a blur of brown, running in a looping figure-eight pattern around Sekani.

Castor and Cora climbed onto a rock to watch the fight. Sekani stopped his SandAttack and looked around frantically, trying to keep his eyes on the surprisingly fast Dale. The brown streak abruptly changed course and smashed into Sekani's back, knocking him flat on his face. Dale landed on Sekani's back with a thump. The flattened Aipom grunted from underneath him, "I thought this was a practice battle!"

Dale nodded even though Sekani wouldn't be able to see it, "I did, but what's the good of a practice fight if you hold back on the attacks?"

Sekani growled and tensed, "Fine!" His tail lashed out and smacked hard against Dale's cheek. Dale grunted as he was knocked off of his opponent and sent rolling by the powerful Tail Whip attack. With a well practiced flip, Dale landed on his feet and skidded to a stop a short distance away from Sekani.

Sekani leaped to his feet, "Let's see how you deal with Scratch Attack!" His left paw pulled back and his claws gleamed dangerously in the sunlight. Dale shied back as the claws sliced through the air at him, barely dodging in time. Eevee fur floated into the air, revealing just how close a call it had been.

Cora gasped in surprise, "Woah, Sekani! Take it easy on the claws! It's just practice!"

Castor gently touched Cora's shell, "Don't worry, I get the feeling that Dale can handle Sekani. Even when he's playing at being enraged."

Cora glanced at Castor skeptically, "Playing at? He looks sincere to me."

Both friends turned back to watching the fight. Sekani was attempting Scratch Attack after Scratch Attack, hoping to force Dale into stumbling. Dale however, wore a look of total calm and concentration. Each attack came within millimeters of cutting his flesh, but it was as if he was simply dancing around between gusts of stiff wind, allowing it to blow him out of the way right before it made contact.

Finally, Sekani stopped, his chest was heaving and he had to prop himself up on his knees to keep from plopping face-first onto the ground. Dale stopped, no more then two feet away from the panting Aipom. Sekani huffed out a challenge, "Is that ... all you ... can do? Run away? Why don't ... you hold ... still and face me like ... a Pokemon!"

Dale didn't reply, he simply flatted his ears and charged. Sekani's eyes widened and he reared back, hoping to get out of the way. Dale twisted in the air and sent his shoulder squarely against Sekani's chest in a powerful Tackle Attack, sending Sekani flying. He hit the ground and skidded for a good five feet before coming to an abrupt stop at the base of the rock Castor and Cora were sitting openmouthed on.

"Ouch..." the wheezing moan snapped Castor out of his daze.

The Charmander leaped to the ground and leaned over Sekani, "Hey, are you okay? Talk to me!"

Sekani moaned again and feebly used his tail hand to rub his chest. "No problem," he gasped out, "it's just a broken everything..."

Cora sighed and opened her bag, "Well he can't be hurt too bad. His mouth still works as snarkily as before." She fished out a Sitrus berry and popped it forcibly into Sekani's mouth, "Here, eat this you idiot Aipom, it will help you."

Sekani slowly chewed the berry and swallowed. Three long moments passed and Castor was about to worry, when his friend leaped to his feet gleefully, "Yum! That was great! Gimme another one, Cora!"

Cora snatched up her bag and ran away, "Oh no you don't! Sitrus berries are only to be used as an energy restore! Not a Snorelax sized buffet! Now make like a Bug-type and buzz off!" Dale gave a tired laugh and flopped down amid the grass.

Castor studied the Eevee, he looked like he'd just run across the entire island. His fur was matted with sweat, his pink tongue lolling out like a Lickitung's, and his ears were drooping. _Yikes, he looks like the loser of that fight, not the winner._ Castor reached into his satchel and fished out a Sitrus berry, "Here," he placed it in front of Dale, "you look like you need it."

One of Dale's ears twitched faintly and he glanced from the berry to Castor and back. He smiled weakly and munched on the hard, smooth tasting berry. Almost as soon as he'd swallowed it, his ears stood up straight and he sat up. He sighed with relief, "Thank you, Castor. I may have won the fight, but Sekani is surprisingly tough to beat."

Castor waved his tail and raised his eye-ridges in surprise, "Really? You made it look like it was easy." Dale shook his head and walked slowly over to his satchel.

As Castor fastened it to his back, Dale answered, "It may have looked easy, but I only won because I have a higher experience level. If someone of the same experience level as Sekani fought him, they would probably lose."

Castor paused, "How did you know your level is higher than his?" _how high is it exactly I wonder? Only higher than Sekani's? Or is it higher than all of ours?_

Dale shrugged, "He used Scratch Attack when his mood would have clearly made Astonish a more effective choice." Castor made a soft 'ah' noise and the two went to aid Cora, who was attempting to ward off Sekani with Bubble Attack.

After restraining Sekani became increasingly more difficult, Castor called a lunch break. The four friends were soon happily munching away on some sweet tasting roots Dale had dug up yesterday. Cora looked off into the distance, suddenly looking sad. Castor stopped eating and looked over at her, "What's wrong, Cora. Are you feeling okay?"

Cora sighed, "I'm okay, I guess. It's just that ... its been almost two weeks since we left Nagai Kusa and I keep wondering how everyone is doing and what they think of us simply disappearing. They probably think we've abandoned the village."

Sekani swallowed his mouth-full of roots and patted Cora's shell comfortingly, "You don't need to worry about that, Cora. They know exactly where we're going and why." Everyone froze and turned to look at Sekani.

Dale narrowed his eyes curiously, "How in the name of Ho-Oh would they know that?"

Sekani tapped his front paws together nervously, "Well ... I kind of ... possibly got caught by Healer Miltank when I went to get the satchels and she might have possibly threatened to sit on me if I didn't explain what I was doing and I might just have told her everything I knew about Castor's plan..."

Cora slapped her forehead with a paw, "You are **such** a coward, Sekani. She's a healer, she would never have sat on a young Pokemon! She was bluffing and you totally fell for it."

Sekani used his tail hand to hide his face but Castor simply shrugged, "That's okay, it isn't like our plan was a secret. It was simply spontaneous." He turned to Cora, "Besides, that means the villagers know that we haven't abandoned them and can tell your parents where you've gone when they get back from their trip."

Cora squeaked and withdrew into her shell with fright, "I forgot about that! My dad is going to have my head for leaving without permission!"

Dale cocked his head to one side, "Why? You're the required age for going on a Discovering, let alone a little trip like this one."

Cora's voice sounded muffled from within her shell, "Try telling your overprotective Venusaur father that! He thinks I'm way too small for even going to the berry orchard and back without an escort!"

Dale looked baffled, "Too small? How can he think that? You look a perfectly healthy size and you've already learned WaterGun."

Cora slowly stuck her head out of shell and deadpanned at Dale, "You've never met a Venusaur have you? **Everything** looks too small to them, except maybe another Venusaur or a Charizard or a Blastoise like my mom."

Dale still looked slightly confused but obviously decided to believe her statement. Castor felt his mind drift briefly back to his memories of his time in the Home Den of clan Charizard. Cora was right, to Pokemon the size of a Charizard, everything seemed small, especially their un-evolved children.

He stood up and reached for his satchel, "Well, I think we've lazed around long enough. I still want to reach Otachi Town before nightfall." Dale and Cora nodded, Sekani groaned dramatically, and they all grabbed their satchels and stood up. Soon they were traipsing across the open grasslands and rolling hills that stood between them and Otachi Town, the main hub of activity for the grasslands and those visiting them.

As they walked, Cora suddenly spoke up, "Hey, Dale? Can I ask you something?" One of Dale's ears flicked to the side so it was pointing at her, thus stating his silent acknowledgement of her presence and giving his permission to ask. Cora sounded slightly shy as she voiced her question, "You said earlier that you were coming to Nagai Kusa Village when the earthquake hit, why? I thought everyone who went on a Discovering would go to places like Otachi Town or Doragon City or the other hubs of the island ... so why come to Nagai Kusa?"

Dale glanced over at her, a look of surprise on his face, "Is that all you think there is to the Discovering? Going to all of the main towns on the island?"

Cora ducked her head, suddenly embarrassed, "Sorry, I guess I thought ... just never mind, forget I asked."

Dale moved closer to her side, "No, it's okay, I was just startled by the question. I was headed to your village because it was the closest grassland stop on the way to Otachi Town. I started my Discovering from the Eeveelution Home Den in Meiro Woods, so your village seemed like the perfect stop to get some supplies and get an idea of what the grasslands were like."

Sekani jumped into the conversation, "So essentially, you **are** just traveling to all the region capitals on the island and our happy little home was just a pitstop."

Dale shook his head, "It's not like that. Yes, I am going to visit all of the region capitals, but I want to get an accurate feel for the region I'm traveling through. For instance, if I only visited Otachi Town during my time on the grasslands, I would get to see many of the Types who live here, but I wouldn't get to understand fully how those different species work together to form a functioning community that **isn't** designed specifically for visitors."

Castor hazarded a thought, "I don't want to interrupt ... but what is the Discovering all about. I've heard different Pokemon say different things about it and I would like to know what the Discovering's actual purpose is."

Dale's face grew thoughtful, "I think it is as unique as the Pokemon experiencing it. Some are just going for the adventure, others want exposure to new ideas, some simply want to find the perfect place to settle down but are tired of their home region." He stopped talking and looked up at the sky, studying the white traces of cloud lacing through the blue heavens above him.

Cora gently touched his shoulder with a paw, "What about you, Dale? Which of those is your reason to be on a Discovering?"

The Eevee's voice was soft murmur as he returned his gaze to the thin dirt path before them, "To be honest, Cora? I don't really know." Silence fell on the group once more as each one pondered what Dale had said.

Castor inwardly mused about his own life, how his mother had left the Home Den, taking him, her only child, along with her and settled down in Nagai Kusa. That had been the only trip he had ever really made up till now. _Maybe I should consider this the start of my own Discovering ... I always wanted to see what the rest of the island was like._

A joyful cry broke through his thoughts, "Hey, come quickly! I can see Otachi Town from here!" Castor looked up sharply to the top of the hill just in front of them, Sekani was preforming a jig at its very top.

Castor suddenly smiled, turned to his other two friends and said, "Last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!" With that, he took off up the hill as fast as he could, ignoring the mock outraged cries of 'cheater!' coming from behind him.

As he got halfway up the hill, the sound of paws thumping the ground behind him got steadily closer. _It sounds like Dale! By Lugia! How can he run so fast on three legs?_ Castor felt himself speed up, his tail waving wildly and its flame burning extra bright from adrenaline. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dale, his friend's face was happy and determined.

As Dale pulled up beside him, he grinned and called between pants for air, "You know what happens to cheaters don't you?"

Castor laughed, "They get a head start and win?"

Dale shook his head, "Nope, they get a head start, forcing the other racers to team up and get him." Dale looked over his shoulder and yelled, "**Now**, Cora!"

Castor jerked his head around to see what Cora was doing so fast that he stumbled over his own two back paws and with a yelp of surprise fell flat on his snout. Cora ran passed him, her giggles could be clearly heard, "One distraction attack successfully completed, Dale! Race you to the top!"

Castor scrambled up and chased after them, "Now look who's cheating! Come back here!"

By the time Castor reached the top, Dale and Cora were already flopped happily on the grass, admiring the view and arguing over who won. Castor flopped down between them and lightly cuffed the two. Cora rubbed the side of her head and raised an eye-ridge at him, "What was that for Oh Flaming One?"

Castor put on a mock scowl, "That wasn't fair guys. You two cheated and I say that I win by default."

Dale snorted, "How was that unfair? It was simply payback for taking off before we were ready. Besides, racing rules clearly state that mild attacks may be used to get ahead."

Castor gaped at Dale's audacity, "Come on! There is no such thing as a distraction attack! You guys made me trip."

Sekani snickered, "Dude, if there is no such thing as a distraction attack, then how could they make you trip?" Castor, seeing there was no way to win the friendly argument, simply muttered under his breath and turned his gaze down the hill. Otachi Town lay sprawled out beneath them, it was easily over three times the size of Nagai Kusa. It's many dens and stores were arranged in neat lines with clearly defined paths leading to each one. From his vantage point on the hill, Castor could see crowds of Pokemon bustling here and there on their daily business and faintly hear the murmurs of conversation.

_It's so big! How in the name of Groudon could this be considered one of the smaller regional capitals? How much bigger does that make Doragon City? _Cora looked as awe struck as Castor felt and he knew she was thinking the same thing. After all, Doragon City was said to be the size of all the region capitals put together. Dale was the first to break the trance, he stood up and began to slowly pad down the hill.

Looking over his shoulder, he called, "Come on! We need to find a place to stay for the night and then I want to explore!" The other three friends quickly regained their senses and hurried after him. Castor's heart pounded excitedly at the thought of exploring the town and seeing its sights. _This trip will definitely be one worth remembering!_

As the four young Pokemon entered the town, they were immediately struck by the sounds, sights, and smells all around. Pokemon were chatting or haggling over goods, each with a unique scent that made it stand out like a flag.

Right from the start, Castor noticed that most of the shopkeepers were either Sentret or their evolved form Furret. The Sentret shopkeepers would often stand up on their bushy but incredibly strong tails to see over the crowd and call to potential customers or simply to wave hello to a passing friend.

"Excuse me!" Castor turned and hastily got out of the way of a befuddled looking female Dodrio. The three headed bird stood there uncertainly, each one of its heads bobbing up and down and looking in a different direction. The center head bent its long neck down so that it was eye level with the smaller Charmander, "Hello, I don't suppose you know the way to fifty-fifth Sitrus Berry Lane?"

Castor spotted the familiar saddle-bags of a Dodrio delivery runner and shook his head apologetically, "Sorry, I just got here from Nagai Kusa."

The head on the right pecked the center head angrily, "I could have told you he'd be no help! He's a Charmander obviously on a Discovering! They don't live around here!"

The left head spoke up timidly, "But, there was always a chance that he might a have a friend here who would know the way..."

The right head reached over and tried to peck the left head but said head stretched as far away from its attacker as possible and thus remained out of reach. The center head lightly returned the peck given by its right-side counterpart, "Watch your mouth! If you hadn't insisted we take that supposed 'shortcut' we wouldn't be late to begin with!"

Castor politely edged away from the arguing Dodrio, hoping that he could slip away before the right-side head decided to peck **him**. However, as he continued to edge into the crowd, accompanied by his friends, the Dodrio completely ignored him. Dale shook his head in amazement, "The heads are supposed to represent three different emotions, sadness, joy, and anger."

Sekani shrugged and waved his tail, "At the moment, none of them look happy or sad, just ticked."

Cora glanced over her shoulder, "I hope they figure out where they are..." Castor nodded slowly, _yeah, if they get any more frustrated, that right head might start pecking everyone!_

Castor began looking around, they were apparently on a street where the buildings were made up purely of store fronts. Each store had a special wooden sign hanging over it, beautifully carved with symbols of what they were selling. Dale reared up and lightly sniffed at one of the signs with an herb symbol on it, "Just as I thought, these signs are made of wood from a Sugar Maple tree. That means they were imported from Meiro Woods."

Eventually, Castor spotted a sign with the symbol of a nest on it, signifying its use as an inn for Pokemon. "Come on, lets get signed in and then we can explore."

Cora suddenly looked worried, "Umm, Castor? What are we going to use to pay for a night's rest? Some inns only take ornamental goods."

Castor shrugged as he pushed open the stone door, "Then we look for another inn, this can't be the only one in Otachi Town."

The innkeeper turned out to be an overgenerous Wigglytuff. The Wigglytuff was all too happy to give them a room free of charge, having assumed that they were all Pokemon on a Discovering together because of the diversity of their group. Soon, they were all standing in a spacious underground room with four nests, each one a different style.

Castor inspected each nest with his eyes. There was a smooth, slightly dished rock for Fire or Rock-Types. Two nests made out of packed dirt and fresh grass for Grass, Normal, or a host of other types that liked their nests that way. Finally, perched in the center of a small clear pool, was another dished rock with reeds lining its insides for their native Water-type Cora. Lighting the entire room were windows to the outside at the four main compass points, east, west, north, and south.

Cora seemed impressed, "Wow, no wonder she claimed to have the best inn in Otachi Town. This is really great!"

Sekani sprawled out on one of the grass nests, snuggling deep into it he called cheerfully, "Mine!" and pretended to fall asleep.

Dale sniffed at the other grass bed and then nodded his approval, "Yes, Madam Wigglytuff was certainly generous ... though I feel a little bit bad about not paying her."

Castor nodded, he felt the same way, "I know, but she wouldn't take no for an answer or believe me when I said that you were the only one on a Discovering."

Sekani looked up from his pretend sleeping, "Hey, don't look a gift berry in the skin! Its her inn, if she wants to give us a free room, that's just fine by me!"

Cora lightly cuffed Sekani's ear, "You're as greedy as a Purrloin, you know that? But he does have a point Castor, if she really wants to give us a free room then it would be rude to turn it down. Maybe we can trade for a gift to give her before we leave."

Castor perked up slightly at the thought, "Yeah! That is a great idea, Cora! Speaking of shopping, let's go see the sights around here before nightfall." With a hearty cheer, the four friends picked up their satchels and trotted off to see what Otachi Town had to offer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Review response: Dear Shadow Snivy, thank you! I'm always very flattered when someone likes my story. Also, congratulations on catching the Chieftain Absol joke, I was beginning to wonder if anyone caught it or if it was simply too idiotic to mention. I'm not sure what you mean by race ... so I can't answer your question. As for your comment about my cover, I know it's boring however I can't figure out how to change it yet. Once I do, I will replace it with something more interesting.**

**Dear AliceBaskervile123, I love Sekani as well! He is a highlight of my writing and makes me laugh whenever I write him. Thank you for the grammar correction, I was wondering if I was writing the Pokemon names incorrectly and what you said made a lot of sense.**

** I realized that I haven't been placing a disclaimer at the beginning of my chapters, so from here on out I will do so. I do not own Pokemon or their world, the only things I own are the plot and these particular characters. **

* * *

** Chapter Four: Will to Fight**

The waves crashed against the shore, wetting the rocky beach with its sloppy kiss over and over, an endless cycle of splashing forward and receding back to itself. This sound, and the light of the late afternoon sun, were the first things to achieve access on the dulled senses of a certain young sleeper. She blinked and squinted against the sunlight, her ears twitched weakly as she woke up.

Raising her head, the Pokemon looked around. _No dream ... still here._ She sighed and began the laborious work of forcing her limbs into standing. She had been stuck on this island for a long time now, almost two weeks if she counted correctly, and she was still trapped in the cave she had first washed up in and had now made her den.

Her gaze turned longingly upward to the cliff top twenty feet above her, even if she couldn't see it from inside the cave, she knew it was there, an impregnable wall between her, freedom, and good food. Gingerly, she traced the long, raw scar that ran jaggedly from the upper center of her forehead, over her right eye, and down her jawbone with a cautious paw. Pain lanced across her face and she hissed angrily, the wound was still tender and while the salty water of the ocean had helped keep it from getting infected, it made it hurt like crazy.

She dry swallowed experimentally, her throat was still slightly swollen from the amount of salt water she had accidentally gulped down that fateful night, but at least it didn't hurt too much and she could get a good drink through it without agonizing throat spasms.

Pushing herself all the way to her feet, she limped slowly down to the wide but surprisingly shallow stream of clean water and guzzled at it greedily. She had been surviving off of the stream ever since she'd woken up ten days ago. She lapped up the clean unsalted liquid, her mind briefly going over her stay in the cave in her mind.

When she had first come to, she had been too weak and exhausted to move, her entire body had throbbed with pain and she had been unable to see out of her right eye because of the dried blood sealing it shut from her new head 'ornament'. But something inside her had refused to remain still, had refused to give up and starve to death in the cave where the ocean had spat her up.

So, she had wrestled to her feet and somehow crawled down from the narrow ledge to the bottom of the cave and its stream. The daily high tides which were able to lick at the very front of the cave and the frequent storms had caused her to retreat from the stream and back onto her hidden ledge because of her newly developed phobia of the ocean. This forced her make the trip to and from the cave stream daily, gradually building up what little strength she could muster.

But the stream would only sustain her for so long, she knew that soon her stomach would insist on either food or her weakness would increase. She needed to escape before then or else her fight with the ocean and her injuries would be for nothing. Finishing her drink, she raised her head and looked around. The late afternoon sunlight that had first awoken her shed precious light towards the back of the cave but did not reach all the way.

She followed the stream backwards, for once curious and strong enough to investigate its source. Soon, she was sniffing gently at the tall crack in the wall that allowed the stream to flow through the cave and down to the ocean. It was just barely wide enough to her to squeeze through, but if she did, she wasn't sure she would be able to back out of it again.

The Pokemon sighed, _I really hate small dark places, I really, really do. But, for freedom and survival!_ Steeling herself for an unpleasant trip, she pushed her bruised body through the crack and into the limestone tunnel carved out by centuries of water flowing down the same path.

Disconcertingly soon, the sounds of the waves were reduced to faint vibrations and the sunlight was but a distant memory. The only sounds to be heard were the brave traveler's splashing paw steps, her thudding heartbeat, and the faint curses she grunted out breathlessly every time she slipped on the smooth rocks.

As she stumbled and limped through the seemingly endless dark, it slowly dawned on her that she was heading upward. While this gave her the hope to continue, it also meant that she found it increasingly hard to keep her footing.

After yet another slip and painful jab in her paw, she stopped and took a long drink from the water trickling around her ankles. _Oh how I wish I had a light ... but if I generate one myself I'll just fry this whole stream and me with it._ She raised her head, licking the water off of her jaws absentmindedly, and froze.

Very faintly up ahead, was a dot of light. As she wondered if this was some kind of fatigue induced illusion, a draft of fresh air played gently with her fur, fluttering her ears mischievously. _Yes!_ She stumbled forward, working her paws with adrenaline aided speed toward the promise of freedom and life.

The tunnel grew steadily wider and the water steadily deeper until she was half wading, half swimming against a slow moving current. The light resolved itself into a cave opening as she swam toward it. She paddled to the left side of the shore and finally emerged from the dark tunnel of rock. Evening sunlight bathed her wet body with welcome warmth as she dragged herself onto a rocky shore.

She closed her eyes, relishing in the feelings of freedom and triumph that burbled up in her soul. _I'm alive ... I'm alive._ Her hold on consciousness slipped away and she dozed off there on the shore. However, fate was not yet done throwing challenges her way. She had one more test to pass before she would be allowed to rest.

* * *

A blood chilling howl of victory ripped from the throats of the houndoom hunting party as Ahanu of clan Wobbuffet finally ran out of breath and came to an unwilling stop. He looked up through his eyes that appeared to be permanently squinting and panted through his mouth, "Come on!" he call pleadingly to the houndoom pack as they surrounded him, "I said I was sorry! Please let me go!"

The leader of the errant hunting party, a houndour with a recently singed fur glared hatefully at the blue, balloon-like Pokemon, "Forgive you? You attacked a member of the houndoom clan on their own territory! The price for such a crime is death!" The cruel doberman-like Pokemon's face split into a toothy grin, "Besides, I've always wanted to see if a wobbuffet was as puffy on the inside as they are on the out."

Ahanu shivered and shielded his face with his handless blue arms, his black tail wiggled agitatedly, "I didn't attack anybody! It's impossible for a wobbuffet to initiate attacks, remember? That's why we're called Patient Pokemon! Besides, it was your own fault for trying to use Ember Attack on me!"

The houndour's smile flopped back into a snarl, "I'll make you pay for embarrassing me in front of Viola! You can't counter an attack from all of us at once!" He raised his head and called to his five snickering pals, "On my mark, use Flamethrower with every ounce of power you can muster! Let's teach this sniveling cave creeper not to mess with us! Ready? One, two, mark!"

Ahanu covered his head with his rubbery blue arms and summoned all of his psychic power into the signature move of his clan, Counter Attack. His light blue skin glowed pink and yellow with the move he hoped would fend off six Flamethrowers.

Heat surrounded him as all six Houndours pummeled him with scorching hot Flamethrower attacks. His psychic barrier began to waver under the inferno and Ahanu began to wail, "Please! Stop! I'll do anything you want, just stop!"

Over the sound of crackling flames, Ahanu heard something. It sounded like a clap of thunder, _thunder? but ... there weren't any storm clouds a few minutes ago!_ Suddenly the Flamethrower attacks stopped and were replaced by screams of surprised pain from his houndour antagonists. A strangely sharp scent filled the air that reminded Ahanu of the annual magneton festival he had once attended as a wynaut.

He shakily opened his eyes and peeked between his arms to see what had happened. Three of the houndours were climbing to their feet, their fur smoking. Two of them were out cold and bleeding across the rocky sand. The lead Houndour panted and glared to his left at a large boulder, "Hey! Who are you to dare interrupt the justice of clan houndoom!" Ahanu's curiosity overrode his terror and he lowered his arms to look at his rescuer.

A Pokemon stood on the top of the boulder. The Pokemon had long yellow ears with black tips, a round body that looked deceivingly chubby, four legs, and a tail the shape of a lightning bolt with a V shaped notch on its end. His eyes traveled back up to her face, red circles stood out in the center of her yellow cheeks and her mouth was set in a thin line of rage.

His eyes traveled further up her face and he gasped, his heart going still in shock and horror. A long, angry red welt of a scar ran from the center of her forehead, across her right eye-ridge and temple before ending at the base of her jaw. Her right eye was half closed, but from underneath the lid it burned with the same gut-wrenching hatred that blazed in the fully open left one.

The Houndour ring leader and his two still conscious companions all snarled at the stranger, "Well, speak up! Who are you to dare attack members of clan houndoom! Answer or suffer the consequences!" She stared at him silently, her eyes blazing with more fire than even he, a Fire/Dark-type possessed. The young dog Pokemon growled, his stubby ears flattened, "Fine, suffer in silence you miserable freak!"

He opened his mouth and a powerful Flamethrower attack leaped out at the silent Pokemon. Ahanu smothered a horrified cry with the ends of his arms as the boulder became consumed with flame. _Why didn't she say anything? Why did she just sit there after trying to save me? Oh no, oh no, oh no!_

The Houndour smugly closed his mouth, clearly expecting to see the crisped remains of the one who had dared to attack him. The rock was scorched black and smoking softly in the evening light ... but there was no body to be seen. One of the Houndour's friends looked around and sniffed the air, "Where did it go Connlaodh? Did you burn it so good that there aren't even any remains?"

Connlaodh puffed out his chest, "Hah! Well good riddance to it I say!" He turned back to Ahanu, his grey helmet-like skull plate glinting wickedly in the last light of the day, "Now let's finish dealing with the trash!" The other two Houndours bared their teeth happily and fell into formation next to their leader.

Ahanu shied back, his heart pounding, _Why do I never get a break? Just once?_ He prepared to try another Counter when a figure, now backlit by the setting orange sun stood up on its hind legs behind the Houndours. A voice rasped out, rage clearly heard even if the words were few, "Leave ... him ... alone."

All three Houndours whirled in surprise and Ahanu gawked. Connlaodh roared in vexation, "What the-! How are you not dead? I burned you to a crisp!"

The mystery Pokemon settled down onto all fours in a pouncing pose, her scar was a deep black against the setting sun as she sneered, "Stupid Fire-type." Her cheeks sparked with electricity and suddenly the air was filled with the sound of crackling energy and the agonized screams of the would-be bullies.

The two companion houndours fainted to the ground, their black fur smoking from the sharp electric attack. Connlaodh was the only one left standing, barely. He gasped for air and Ahanu could see his muscles quivering and spasming in protest to his weight. The fire dog looked up, "By the name of Ho-Oh ... I demand ... to know who you are! What ... what is your clan?"

The Pokemon limped silently over until she was nose to nose with the shaking Houndour. She pulled back a small five fingered paw, balled it into a fist, and swung. A meaty smack sounded in the air and Connlaodh collapsed senseless to the ground.

Ahanu gaped at the Pokemon, an electric-type he had never seen before who looked like something a Mandibuzz dragged in and yet still utterly kicked the tails of five houndours. He swallowed hard, "Who, who are you, please? What is your clan?"

The Pokemon swayed lightly on her feet, she locked eyes with him, "I ... am a Pikachu," she rasped out before her intense green eyes rolled upwards and she passed out.

Ahanu ran over on his four stubby legs, gently scooped his mysterious rescuer into his arms and began to waddle home, "I don't know who clan Pikachu is, miss. But if they can raise a Pokemon like you, then I hope to meet more of them. Let's get you to Healer Xatu."

Almost a day later, Ahanu was pacing on his four stubby legs, while it happened that Healer Xatu had disappeared on her annual journey for solitude and meditation, her capable apprentice Chansey was all too willing to help. The pink, egg-shaped Pokemon was patiently tending to the stranger from clan Pikachu. She clapped her paws together gently and then raised them, "Soft Boiled!"

Healing yellow energy glowed from the egg in her pouch before slowly floating to the Pikachu and merging with her. For a few awe-inspiring seconds, every line of the strange electric-type's body glowed as the energy produced from Chansey rejuvenated the unconscious Pokemon's muscles and healed the many cuts and bruises.

The glow faded, leaving the Pikachu to sleep much easier then before. Ahanu studied her, "She still has the scar," he pointed out nervously, "I thought Soft Boiled was supposed to heal everything."

The Chansey shook her head, causing her six dreadlocks to bob softly, "No, it only heals about fifty percent of any injures taken and that," she motioned to the scar, "did a lot more damage that you would think. At least it isn't so pronounced anymore and once Max gets here she will be as energetic as any other electric-type."

Ahanu sighed and nodded in agreement, Apprentice Chansey was correct. The scar, formally angry red and puckered, was now a pink, slightly raised line. _Now if only she would wake up!_

* * *

Energy poured through her veins for a second time in what seemed like a dark eternity, a different kind than from before. While the previous flow of energy had been warm and comforting like a fuzzy blanket on a cold winter night, this energy was sharp, exhilarating, it made her want to open her eyes, run and leap and shout. She gasped and her eyes snapped open. At first everything was a jumble of colors and sounds but she knew one thing for certain, there was another electric-type in the room and he or she was giving her a recharge.

She sat up and shook her head, vaguely hearing the cry of, "That's plenty, Max. You can stop now." She looked around, taking in the cave walls, the nest she was lying in, the pleased looking Chansey, and the thoughtful looking Magnemite. Her green eyes finally rested on the Wobbuffet staring at her worriedly from a corner.

The Chansey waddled up to her happily, "My, you recovered remarkably fast, miss! How are you feeling? Thirsty? Hungry? In need of some more electricity?"

The Pikachu pinned her ears flat at the chatter and the Chansey instantly quieted, her pink face showing extreme regret for having upset her patient. The patient in question slowly relaxed and smiled tentatively, "Thank you," her voice was so dry it sounded like wind scraping a pine branch on metal, "water ... would be great."

The Wobbuffet instantly leapt from his corner, "I'll get it! I'll get it!" He immediately began to run willy-nilly around the room muttering, "Water, water, need to get water!"

The Magnemite rolled its single eye and spoke impatiently in its electric voice, "There is bowl lying by the patient's nest and a pond in the next room over." The Wobbuffet stopped running and flailing his arms and looked sheepishly at the bowl.

The Chansey chuckled, "I'll get the water. Ahanu, stay in that corner and don't say anything. The last thing my patient needs is you riddling her with questions." The fat pink Pokemon picked up the bowl, smiled pleasantly at the Pikachu and waddled off to get water.

As soon as she was gone, the Wobbuffet ran over to the nest and began babbling, "Hello, stranger from clan Pikachu! I am Ahanu Wobbuffet, the guy you saved from those Houndour! How did you overpower those guys when you were so low on energy? It was ama-**ouch**!" Ahanu retreated from the Magnemite who had just jolted him with a shot of electricity, "Watch it Max, I was just asking!"

'Max' bobbed in the air, "As Apprentice Chansey recently ordered not too." He turned in the air to face the amused looking Pikachu, "I request your pardon on behalf of Ahanu Wobbuffet. He, like many of his species, are too impatient and ... goofy to obey orders with any degree of efficiency. I am Magnemite 023 but many seem to enjoy calling me 'Max'. You may as well if you wish."

The Pikachu smiled at Max and whispered a reply, "I am ... Mira Pikachu. Nice-" her sore throat rebelled at being used when it was so dry and she bent double, her body suddenly racked with coughs.

The Chansey rushed back into the room and gently rubbed Mira's back with soothing circular motions to ease to coughing. When the coughs had subsided, she offered the bowl of water to Mira, "Remember, sip, don't gulp." Mira silently complied, sipping happily at the bowl of water until her throat returned to a comfortably wet level.

Lowering the bowl from her lips, she handed it back to the Chansey, "Thank you, that was wonderful." Apprentice Chansey positively beamed at the thought of having made Mira feel better.

Ahanu bobbled forward again, "Hi! You said your name was Mira? I just wanted to thank you for saving me from those Houndour, if you ever need a Wobbuffet, just give a shout."

Mira studied Ahanu, _so he's the one those bullies were chasing._ A bright flash of hatred flickered through her, she** hated **bullies with an unmeasurable passion that rivaled the ocean in violence. Keeping her face utterly calm she answered, "I was happy to help, Ahanu." She turned her gaze to the Chansey, "How much do I owe for your services and that of Max's? I'm afraid I don't have anything to trade but I can work-"

Apprentice Chansey waved her paw dismissively, "Don't be silly! You don't have to pay me! Consider it a thank you from his clan for saving Ahanu. As for Max, he stated earlier that it was payment enough to meet a member of a whole new electric clan."

Mira frowned, "Whole new clan? What do you mean? Clan Raichu can be found in almost every region."

Now it was Apprentice Chansey's turn to frown, "Really? Because Max's clan have members all over the island and none of them have even heard of clan Raichu ... no offense of course!" Mira blinked, _island? I was talking about regions like Johto or Sinnoh or Unova. What is she talking about?_

To avoid an argument or worse, questions about where she came from, she waved a paw, "Never mind, my clan is very private so I'm not surprised. Is it all right if I leave?"

Apprentice Chansey blinked rapidly, "Of course, if that is what you want. But it is nighttime, wouldn't you rather stay here till morning?" Seeing Mira shake her head, Chansey continued, "How silly of me, you must be in the middle of your Discovering and eager to get back to it. Ahanu? You have the best night vision, would you lead her outside and point the way to Airmd Town?"

Ahanu stiffened and threw the characteristic wobbuffet salute, "Yes, ma'am! Right this way, Mira Pikachu and clan Raichu!" Mira jumped out of the nest and with a polite nod of farewell to Max, followed Ahanu down many tunnels towards the outside world.

Faintly behind her, Mira's sharp ears picked up the Chansey's high voice commenting, "Rather abrupt isn't she? Well, since she's from a secret clan, she probably has to follow all sorts of rules about secrecy and not talking to nonmembers. Poor dear."

Mira shook her head, _I cannot believe they swallowed that! Everyone knows about how open clan Raichu usually is! But then ... they didn't even know that Pikachus existed until they met me. Could it be that this island has lost all contact with the outside world?_ She turned another corner, her mind briefly shoving an unpleasant memory on her. Cruel laughter, hard blows, and constant fighting. She shuddered and slammed a mental wall on those thoughts.

She kept her eyes firmly on the bobbing blue form of Ahanu, _Well, if it is, then at least I will be able to live my life without meeting _**_them_**_ again. If that means being the only pikachu here, then so be it._

A cave opening yawned into her field of vision and suddenly she was standing in the cool night air. She breathed deeply, taking in the scents of the desert at night. She turned to Ahanu, "What is this place called?"

The Wobbuffet cocked his head to one side in befuddlement, "Kasai Desert, uh ... if we head straight in that direction we should reach Airmd Town in few days."

Mira gave him a scathing look that the dim lighting failed to dull, "What do you mean 'we'? That Chansey told you to simply point out the right direction."

Ahanu bobbed his head up and down, one arm in a salute, "I know, but you saved my life! I am bound by honor to follow you until the day you die!"

Mira felt like frying something, the last thing she needed was a wobbuffet following her around, they were notoriously nosey. She flattened her ears, reared up on her hind paws, and crossed her front ones over her chest, "You only have to do that if I tell you. So, you can go back to your clan now. If it makes you feel better, consider taking me to the Chansey as repaying your debt."

Ahanu shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no! It doesn't repay even a tenth of my debt! I have to follow you or else be shamed for life! Wobbuffets hold the debt of loyalty under different rules than most Pokemon. If a wobbuffet needs saving then that wobbuffet is bound to serve his rescuer until one of them perishes! Please let me come with you, if I don't my clan will banish me!"

Mira sighed irritatedly, _What exactly did I do to deserve this?_ She lowered herself back onto all fours and sped off in the direction of Airmd Town, "Fine, but you're going to have to keep up!" Using her electric pouches to light her way, she couldn't help but relish the surprised sound that came from Ahanu as he struggled to catch up.

She ran through the night for a long time, ignoring Ahanu behind her and the hunger that pinched at her stomach. Mira looked up as she leaped from rock to rock, the moon was full and round, shining with a bright silver-white glow that made it the precious jewel in a crown of darkness.

Her legs slowed and then stopped as she stared thoughtfully at the moon. Behind her she could hear the loud wheezing of Ahanu, she felt the tiniest twinge of guilt, wobbuffets were far from fast when it came to running and their legs made it impossible for them to possess any real endurance. Mira had hoped that if she outran him, he might give up and go home. _This one is persistent, I'll give him that._

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Ahanu had stopped a short distance away, his mouth open wide in an attempt to gasp in more air. She looked passed him, brightening her electric light to see farther. They had come a good distance. Mira sighed, climbed off of the rock, and curled up on its lee side. She called curtly to Ahanu, "We've come far enough for tonight, get some sleep."

Ahanu wobbled up to her and made as if to snuggle against her side. Mira sparked her cheek pouches threateningly, "You may be under a life debt to me, Wobbuffet, but that doesn't mean you have the right to invade my personal space."

He pulled back and looked apologetic, "Oh, sorry. I just thought ... nights can get very cold here on Kasai." Mira twitched her ears, she wasn't cold at all. Then again, that could simply be because she had been running for so long.

Mira continued to glare at him, "Your clan live in caves, I think you can manage the cold." Ahanu sputtered slightly and murmured something about how 'that hadn't been what he meant' but eventually drifted off to sleep a short distance away from her. She watched him sleep for several minutes before uncurling and climbing the rock again.

She perched at its top and stared at the moonlit sky. She watched the stars twinkle and listened to the sounds of nocturnal Pokemon in the distance. She listened to these sounds and watched these sights, but in reality, she wasn't paying attention to any of them. Her mind was far away, above the desert all around her, beyond the island she was now stranded on, it was lingering on a face she had once loved.

A breeze flitted across the sand and scrub. It played with her fur and flapped her ears mischievously before passing on, leaving Mira to shiver softly. With her green eyes still locked on the moon, she whispered in a lonely, bitter tone "Good night, Jack. I hope your choices have brought you the good fortune you hoped for."

She sat there for a long time afterwards, her thoughts lost in the past, before sleep overcame her and she drifted off into dreams on the top of the windblown rock.


	5. Chapter 5

**Review response: Dear Shadow-Snivy, thank you for the lovely review and here is chapter five! Thank you also for alerting me to the Tail Whip mistake. I am aware that Tail Whip is a non-damaging attack, however, I am new to Pokemon and until recently thought Tail Whip was an attack that did damage. I meant to correct the error but by the time I went to post the chapter here, I had forgotten about it. I will try to be more accurate about the attacks from now on.**

**Dear Alice-Chan123, I promised to do regular updates did I not? Though, my diligence may not last ... I hit a writer's block further ahead in the story that currently has me bogged down. I'll work through it as quickly as I can however, and until then, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Pokemon in any way. The only thing I own is the plot and characters. **

* * *

**Chapter Five: **

** The Ghosts that Haunt**

The hot morning sun beat down on Kasai desert, its rays so intense that it caused the horizon to waver like ripples on a recently disturbed pond. Unfortunately, there was no refreshing pond for Mira Pikachu to drink from. There was only a scorching dirt path, a few shriveled bushes, and an irritatingly large ryhorn standing stubbornly in her way.

"Who goes there? What do you want on my land?" Mira looked up coolly at the Ryhorn, studying the many chips in his armored body.

"I am Mira Pikachu of clan Raichu. I merely seek passage to Airmd Town." The rhinoceros-like Pokemon leaned down until he was eye level with her, his eyes were suspicious and hard. She kept her face utterly expressionless as she stared right back, ignoring Ahanu's whimpers of fear behind her.

The Ryhorn reared back up and growled, "I have never heard of clan Raichu! You are lying! Turn back and do not disturb me again, little yellow mouse!"

Mira reared up and glared at the Ryhorn. She knew that ryhorns were very stupid, so sometimes they would simply declare wherever it was that they were standing their territory no matter who's territory it really was. _But if I turn back that will prolong my journey by almost a week! I'm not going to let a ryhorn and his big ego get in my way._ She sparked her cheeks authoritatively, "My companion said that this was a trade road open to all. You have no right to order me away, Ryhorn."

The Ryhorn roared in outrage, "How dare you call me a liar! You are a mere Electric-type! Brothers, come defend our honor!" Two more ryhorns emerged from behind some desert rocks with identical growls of outrage. Mira tensed, _This is bad. I really hate Rock-types._

She poised on all fours, her eyes flickered from one ryhorn to another. Ahanu suddenly ran in front of her, "Wait!" Everyone paused. Ahanu saluted the ryhorns and began rapidly speaking, "Please, she meant no offense! It is simply that she is on a Discovering and we lost our supplies a while back and really need to get to Airmd Town to get some new ones. I humbly request that you let us pass, please?"

The three ryhorns frowned and put their heads together to confer on what to do. Finally they parted and the first one lumbered forward, "We will agree to let you pass, **if** your outspoken friend can prove that she is willing to back up her words." He turned his hard gaze to Mira, "I challenge you to a battle, if you win then I will pass the word to all among the other Rock-types of Kasai not to disturb you." He smirked a little bit, "If you lose, you will simply be one more Electric-type with too much pride and not enough muscle."

Mira raised an eyebrow, _He's smart ... for a ryhorn._ She nodded curtly, "I accept." She heard Ahanu gasp in horror and the snickers from the other ryhorns. She knew why, Ground and Rock-types were immune to electric attacks. Ryhorns were classified under both. Everyone was expecting her to get 'creamed' by her opponent. _Well, let's show them just how wrong they are._

The Ryhorn did not waste any time, he charged her, his horn lowered and bearing down with surprising speed for something so heavy. Mira coiled her legs underneath her and dodged, leaping into the air to her left just before the Ryhorn could skewer her. He kept charging in his chosen direction for several minutes, _Lesson one: When fighting a ryhorn, remember that while they might be fast for their size, they can't turn on a dime ... or a square mile, once they get going._

She waited patiently for the Ryhorn to grind to a stop, turn around, spot her, and charge again. At the last second, she leaped to one side, feeling the slight turbulence caused by his bulk passing so close underneath her. This process was repeated ten times before the Ryhorn stopped, turned, and yelled at her, "Fight me, you stupid mouse! Hold still so I can hit you!" _and that would be considered intelligent?_

She silently folded her front paws over her chest and raised an eyebrow at him. With a bellow of rage, her dim-witted foe charged once more, his head rocking up and down in different directions, he was apparently hoping to hit her with a Fury Attack as she dodged. Without so much as blinking, she turned and ran away.

The Ryhorn, predictably, gave chase, his cries of triumph ringing in Mira's keen ears. She flattened them and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Ahead of her, a large rock loomed in her vision. _Almost there!_ She could feel the Ryhorn's breath hot against her tail, could feel the air parting for his horn, could feel the trembling in the ground caused by his footfalls.

She lunged, planted all four feet against the boulder, and rebounded into the air back towards her opponent's head. The Ryhorn kept charging, unable to stop. His eyes went wide when he saw her abrupt reversal. Mira spun horizontally, building up speed, as her tail glowed and became the color of steel, "Try this on for size, hard head!"

Her tail, now harder than iron, slammed into the side of the Ryhorn's face. He roared in pain and crashed to ground on his side. Mira landed a short distance away, the force of her own blow making her skid several feet. She looked up calmly, already knowing what she would see. Her opponent lay unmoving on the ground, moaning and panting. _Lesson two: Ryhorns may be fast, but their armor causes them to tire out if they use Tackle Attack, Horn Attack, or Fury Attack too many times in quick succession. Once they are tired, their weakness against Steel-type attacks are doubled and all it takes is one well placed hit to end the match._

Another memory, very similar to the scene in front of her pushed itself into her mind's eye. For a second, her heart stilled and she couldn't breathe. Her eyes hardened and the pleasure at winning vanished from her soul like a naughty child.

Awed silence reigned over the other two Ryhorns and Ahanu, no one knew how to react to her victory. Ahanu finally whispered, "That ... was ... amazing!" Mira simply dusted herself off and trotted past. She was in no mood to hear his gabbing about how amazing he thought she was.

Ahanu yelped and hurried to catch up with her, "Wait up! Wait up!" He finally came abreast to her and grabbed her shoulder, "Hold it!"

Mira stopped and yanked away from his touch, "What?" her voice was a low growl.

Ahanu looked back over his shoulder and then back at her, "You just defeated a ryhorn five times your size! What to you mean 'what'? That was amazing! How can you just walk away like nothing happened?"

Mira stared at him long enough to make him squirm. Finally she resumed walking, "It was an obstacle between me and Airmd Town. I removed it, there is nothing to brag about or celebrate."

Ahanu blinked in shock, "What? Nothing to brag about? You're an Electric-type and you just defeated a Ground/Rock-type like he was a Goldeen or something!"

Mira tried to ignore him and keep walking. She didn't want to talk or think about her fight anymore then she had to. Ahanu continued to pester her about the fight until Mira couldn't stand it anymore. She snarled and burst into a dead run, leaving a startled Ahanu in the flying dust.

* * *

Ahanu hurried to catch up with Mira, wondering what he had said that angered her so much. _It's like she doesn't even want to think about her fighting skills, but why?_ "Wait up Mira! I'm sorry! I won't talk about it anymore, just slow down!" It took ten more minutes of running, gasping and calling before Mira stopped and waited for him.

Mira was sniffing quietly at the ground, her attention focused solely on a patch of soil just off of the road. Ahanu approached her cautiously, wondering, not for the first time over the last few days, if he hadn't made a bad choice by insisting on following the mysterious and volatile Pikachu. She continued to ignore him and was now digging at the patch of soil.

Ahanu sidestepped the flying dirt and asked timidly, "Uh, what are you doing?" Mira didn't pause in her digging to answer. Finally she stopped, reached into the hole, and pulled up a small collection of white roots.

She tossed him a few and began munching calmly on her share. Ahanu eyed the roots suspiciously, _what are these?_ Mira glanced at him and answered his unsaid question, "They're Catalia Roots, they grow in deserts like this one often. Eat them, they taste fine and you'll need strength to keep going."

Ahanu glanced from the roots to Mira and back to the roots. He shrugged and munched on one. To his surprise, it did taste good. It had a sweet yet tart flavor to it that threatened to make his taste buds pop with their deliciousness. They were also very moist and helped to ease his thirst. He grinned around the mouthful of root, "Its good!"

Mira gave him a dry look, swallowed her own root, and chastised, "Don't talk with your mouth full." Ahanu blushed slightly and muttered an apology around his mouthful of root. He saw Mira roll her eyes and shake her head softly, _Oops! I did it again!_

They were soon walking down the road once more. Ahanu glanced down at his companion shyly, her gaze was alert but her muscles relaxed, the scar along her face adding to the mystery that hung around her like a veil. _I wonder where she comes from? She seems to know a lot about surviving in the desert but she didn't know its name or where the nearest village is. She's always uptight too, when it comes to speaking with other Pokemon. It's like she's afraid that they'll ask her something she can't answer._

Mira must have sensed his prolonged glance because her cold green eyes flicked up at him. Ahanu quickly averted his gaze and pretended to find the road at his feet very interesting. He heard Mira sigh softly and braced himself for another running session. It seemed that whenever she grew uncomfortable around him, which was often, she would break into a dead run that left him helplessly trying to catch up.

However, she didn't run off, instead she spoke to him levelly, "How much farther to that village you mentioned?"

Ahanu blinked, up until now she had only entered conversation if he started it, "Uh, about another mile or two, maybe? I'm not exactly sure."

He saw her roll her eyes, "I thought you said you would make a good guide."

Ahanu straightened, determined to defend his guiding skills, "I am! It's simply been a long time since I came this way!"

Mira shot him a withering look, "Don't lie to me, Wobbuffet. You have never left your home den before now. If you had you would have known about the Catalia Roots."

Ahanu lowered his head in shame, "Okay, okay. I heard about the village from another member of my clan who had just come back from his Discovering."

Mira did not reply, she simply shook her head and kept walking. Ahanu felt miserable, _Wonderful, now she really thinks I'm an idiot. Great going Ahanu, give her more reasons not to want you on this trip why don't you?_

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence for another half hour before Ahanu spotted something in the hazy distance. He squinted and tried to focus on it. It looked like a collection of lumps just to one side of the road. His heart leapt for joy, _It's Onidrill Village! Yay! Water and food here I come!_ "There it is! Onidrill Village!"

Mira's ears pricked and for the first time in the four days he had known her, she looked pleased. Turning to him, she smiled thinly, "Ready for another workout, Wobbuffet?"

Ahanu groaned, "Can't we please-" She took off running, sending clouds of hot dust up in her wake, "walk the rest of the way?" He finished pleadingly. _How does anyone have so much energy in this heat? How?_ Ahanu threw a hopeless wail to the sky and took off after her as fast as his tired, hot, and sweaty stubby four legs could go.

By the time he reached the outskirts of the village, he had lost sight of the Pikachu. Heaving for air and about to pass out from the heat, Ahanu looked around for her. _She's probably gloating somewhere ... laughing at the foolish wobbuffet who insisted on following her. I frankly wouldn't blame her..._

An almost gentle voice piped up next to him, "Here, drink this." Ahanu looked to his right and to his surprise saw Mira, she was holding a small clay pitcher filled with water under his nonexistent nose.

With a breathless cry of joy, he snatched the container and began greedily swigging at it. The sudden intake of water in his dry throat caused him to cough and hack. Mira cooly caught the pitcher before it spilled or hit the ground and waited for him to recover, "Sip next time," she advised flatly.

Once Ahanu got his coughing under control, she handed him the water pitcher again and let him drink his fill from it. She took the pitcher away from him and walked slowly off on her hind legs, "This way, I need to return the pitcher."

Ahanu sighed happily and followed her the rest of the way into the shaded oasis. A sudden realization made him stop dead in amazement, _Wait, was she just ... nice to me?_ He stared at Mira's back, unable to wrap his mind around what had just happened. "Hey, are you okay, Mister Wobbuffet?"

Ahanu snapped out of his daze and looked over at the concerned baby Phanpy. He smiled at the small blue elephant-like Pokemon, "Yeah, I'm just fine, perfect actually." The Phanpy smiled back at him and trotted off, probably to find its mother and tell her all about the newcomers.

He hurried to catch up to Mira, who was currently talking to a friendly looking flygon. He came within earshot just in time to hear the Flygon chuckle and say, "Of course you can stay the night! I have everything you might need in my inn. I'll talk to Colt, he owns the shop just down the street, into giving you new satchels and supplies."

Mira dipped her head politely, "Thank you. But I'm afraid we don't have anything to pay for supplies with."

The Flygon waved a paw airily, "Oh, don't worry about that! Pokemon on their Discovering are given whatever they need, free of charge."

Mira cocked her head to one side, "How do you know whether or not someone is simply lying to get supplies for free?"

The Flygon blinked his huge eyes, "The age limit of course! Anyone over the age of eighteen is supposed to pay their way no matter if they are on a Discovering or not. But you already knew that."

Mira nodded, but Ahanu got the impression that she was simply pretending to understand. _Yet another commonplace thing that she doesn't seem to know about! I wonder if she has amnesia ... but if she did wouldn't she be unable to remember her own name or clan?_

Ahanu decided then and there to keep a very close eye on his companion. He would find out what she was hiding, or he wasn't a member of clan Wobbuffet! He sidled over to Mira, "Hey, want to explore?"

She looked up at him expressionlessly, "Don't even think about it Wobbuffet. Trying prying into my life and I'll roast you so well that you'll be the same color as a desert sunset." Ahanu's jaw dropped, _How the heck did she know?_

The Flygon chuckled, "Here's a tip, Wobbuffet. If you want to remain inconspicuous, try not to say things your clan usually doesn't."

Ahanu looked helplessly between the two Pokemon, "How? How?"

Mira glared at him, "You? Want to explore after walking through the desert for four days without supplies, complaining the whole way while I had to forage? Don't make me hurt you." Without another word she trotted off towards the oasis pool, leaving Ahanu blushing and embarrassed.

The Flygon shook his head, "Wow, she's a tough nut to crack if I ever saw one. Take my advice Wobbuffet, try another girl, she isn't your type."

Ahanu sighed and decided that enough was enough for the day. After inquiring what room the Flygon innkeeper had given Mira, he retired there and was soon snoring peacefully.

* * *

Mira Pikachu stared at her reflection in the water. Examining the long scar that was permanently a part of her facial features. She sighed, _why? Why did I wind up here?_ She shook her head vehemently, she couldn't allow her thoughts to go down the self pity path. She straightened up and made her way down the sandy beach to a small inlet that looked perfect for bathing. Once she reached it, Mira glanced cautiously around to make sure no one was peeping.

All of the villagers seemed to be too busy going about their business to notice the stranger near their oasis. With a sigh, Mira slowly placed first one paw, then the other into the water. She suppressed a shudder and the inlet water lapped softly at her paws, _This isn't the ocean, it is nowhere near deep enough to drown in. You are fine, you are not afraid of water. Not now, not ever._

Gritting her teeth, she forced her self to walk all the way into the inlet and lie down, submerging her body in the cool blue liquid. From her position, she could now feel the faint eddies swirling in the water. Images surged through her mind._ Thunder, lightning, water, can't breathe!_ With a spurt of bubbles she suddenly sat up, her eyes wide with terror as she scrambled madly out of the water.

Mira lay on the bank, panting from the terror that surged through her body and tried to calm her racing heart. She glared at the water, as if it was somehow **its** fault for her new, ridiculous phobia. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the swaying leaves of the trees above her, shielding her from most of the sun's ferocious heat.

_I'm an Electric-type, that means I'm strong against Water-types. So I shouldn't be afraid of a little stupid water!_ With a snarl of frustration, she pushed herself up and splashed back into the inlet, refusing to give in to the instinctive terror that threatened freeze her limbs or worse, make her run away.

Mira focused on taking deep breaths as she slowly sat down in the cool water. Her heart pounded like a loudred in heat, her head felt light as she forced herself to stay in the water that lapped playfully at her waist. _I am not afraid, I refuse to be afraid, there is nothing to fear from a little water. _

Her body shook with fear, her nostrils flared as memories assaulted her. The water splashed gently against her, nothing like the ocean she had nearly drowned in. Slowly, as the fact that she was healthy and breathing seeped into the more primal part of her brain, her muscles relaxed. _Okay, note to self, no submerging, just a little dipping._

She looked up at the leaves again, they were surprising colors. Instead of green, they were a deep violet color that caused the sunlight to turn their tiny veins a deep red. Mixed in among them were Pinon Pine Trees, their dull green needles making a sharp contrast to their red and purple neighbors. She sighed quietly and allowed herself to climb out of the inlet. _So much for a bath, maybe I'll just go get something to eat._

As she shook the water from her fur, she heard the faint crunch of pebbles being ground underneath a paw. She straightened abruptly, her body tense and ready for a fight. Ten feet away stood a riolu, his black masked face was concerned, his small blue ears twitching shyly. Mira glared at him suspiciously, her strong emotions causing him to back up a step and twitch the two black, bulb-like dreadlocks that hung from either side of his head.

She stared at him silently, her eyes taking in his delicately balanced bipedal stance on the balls of his two black paws. The Riolu was a small, blue, dog-like Pokémon. His legs and torso were colored a velvety black, his long tail was blue and around his neck was a yellow collar. On the back of his forepaws were matching rounded white bumps, which she guessed were the beginnings of the spikes that his evolved form, lucario, possessed. Riolu's red eyes studied her curiously, as if trying to decide whether he should fear the stranger or not.

Mira snapped at him shortly, "What do you want, Riolu?"

The Riolu blushed and bowed apologetically, "I am deeply sorry for having disturbed you, miss. But I ... I thought I sensed great distress and came to investigate. Is there anything I can do to be of assistance?"

Mira felt a tiny twinge of embarrassment at being so suspicious. _Right, he's an Aura Pokemon, even at a young age they're able to sense emotions and dispositions of other Pokemon. My whole water battle probably sent alarm bells through his head loud enough to wake a Snorlax._ She took a calming breath and tried to look less threatening, "It's fine, I was simply ... thinking about stuff. I am Mira Pikachu of clan raichu. You are?"

He bowed again, this time with a tiny flourish of his paws, "I am Leal Riolu of clan lucario. It is an honor to meet you Madam Pikachu." He straightened up again, "If I may ask ... have you been on a Discovering for a long time?"

Mira twitched one ear, _You have no idea, Riolu._ "You could say that, why?"

Leal looked suddenly eager, "I'm on a Discovering of my own, actually. I left my home in hopes of finding the Guardian!" Mira kept her expression neutral but inside she was beginning to grow curious, _What is the Guardian?_

She sat down, thoughtfully scratched one ear and asked, "Really? Why?"

Leal walked the rest of the distance separating them and sat down on the inlet bank, "Well, I wanted to ask the Guardian why the natural disasters were becoming ... well, disasters. I'm sure you've noticed how much the earthquakes are becoming more violent and much longer. In my home den there was even a flash flood! Many Rock and Ground-types were gravely injured during that flood and I can't help but wonder if there is a reason behind the increase in danger. So, I decided to find the Guardian and ask him. Or at least find some Water-types who might help drain out the caves."

Mira felt a flash of sympathy for Leal's home den, water was very dangerous to Rock-types and their close cousins the Ground-types had inherited their mortal fear of water. "So why did you want to talk to me?"

Leal looked at her hopefully, "Since you've been traveling the island on a Discovering, I was hoping you might be able to tell me how the other regions were doing. Are they getting hit with disasters as well, or is it just Kasai desert?"

Mira shrugged, "I can't help you there. I haven't been to the other regions yet." _Who divides an island into regions anyway? It's like no one here is aware of the world outside..._

Leal's tiny ears drooped dejectedly, "Oh," he suddenly looked over at her, "say, are you hungry?"

Mira's ears stood straight up and her tail followed suit in surprise at the sudden subject change, "Maybe," she stated cautiously.

Leal promptly stood up and offered her his paw, "Then allow me to treat you to a meal, Madam Pikachu."

She didn't move, she simply stared at him warily, "Why?"

Leal looked slightly taken aback, "Because you are a lady and I accidentally interrupted what you were doing. It is only proper that I treat you to a meal." Mira blinked at his insistence on conforming to what many Pokemon would have considered outdated chivalry.

_I heard that the lucario clan were big on chivalry ... I suppose I can't turn him down, there's probably some rule about life-long dishonor for him if I did._ Mira sighed, reared up onto her hind legs, and slowly placed her paw in his, "If you insist."

The two Pokemon made their way back into the village and Leal escorted her into a small cafe. To Mira's mild surprise, the waiter who seated them was a tyrogue. The small purple Fighting-type was incredibly polite as he took their orders, however Mira almost lost her temper when he asked if Leal and Mira would like to **share** a drink or have two separate ones.

Once the tyrogue had disappeared to the kitchen, Leal shifted uncomfortably, "I apologize for his misunderstanding, Madam Pikachu. I hope you don't think that I invited you here to-"

Mira snorted, "Don't be a ridiculous idiot. You aren't even old enough to be in an egg group," from the expression on Leal's face, he was probably blushing hard enough to make an Ice-type burn. She continued, "And stop calling me 'Madam Pikachu' you make me sound old and fatigued." She turned the full power of her green eyes on the hapless Riolu, "My name is Mira, got it?"

Leal nodded frantically, his red eyes wider then Mira ever thought possible, "Good."

An uncomfortable silence fell on the two as they waited for their meal. Mira studied her surroundings to pass the time. They were seated in the inside part of the cafe, the part designed for various ground dwelling Pokemon. It was fairly well lit through many windows in the ceiling and the entire floor was divided into different sized tables and a wide path to reach them all. The ceiling was high enough to allow even a ryhorn easy passage to a table which, if given a perfectly blunt evaluation, was a perfectly square mound of dirt baked hard by a Fire-type and covered with a tablecloth made out of webbing from clan ariados. A few Pokemon sat on the dirt around these tables chatting and laughing with their companions.

All things considered, it had a nice simple feeling that you couldn't easily find in say, the Johto region. Mira scowled to herself and shoved the memories that threatened her to the back of her mind, she didn't have time for the past.

A timid cough drew Mira back to reality. Leal had both of his paws folded in his lap and he wore a very serious expression on his face, "I hope this question isn't intrusive, but are you traveling alone? Were ... did someone attack you?"

Mira's paw crept up to the scar along her face and tried to hide her sigh, _A chivalric Pokemon equals a nosey one I guess._ She answered him levelly, "I didn't get this scar from that kind of attack, Leal. Also, I am not traveling alone, a wobbuffet named Ahanu has insisted on following me."

Leal looked instantly concerned, "Insisted on following you? Without your consent? Do you need assistance dealing with him?"

Mira shook her head, "There is nothing you can do. I was dumb enough to drive off a pack of houndour that were chasing him and then he claimed that he owed me his life ... you can figure out the rest."

Leal cocked his head to one side, "You didn't want his loyalty?" Mira deadpanned at him and Leal laughed softly, "Right, a wobbuffet," Leal suddenly looked concerned, "has he ... 'bothered' you?"

Mira glared moodily, "Depends on your definition of 'bothered'. If it's the same as my version then yes, extremely bothered."

Leal fell silent, his gaze hooded. The Tyrogue chose that moment to reappear with two plates of warm poffins and roasted Pinon nuts harvested, as the Tyrogue proudly declared, from their own trees. Leal and Mira exchanged glances before starting on their lunch. Mira, despite being with someone who was an almost total stranger, secretly found herself enjoying the lunch and Leal's company. He was courteous to a fault but didn't make Mira feel like he was babying her.

Also, he did not pry further into her scar or her past in any way, he respected that if she wanted to tell him, she would. _At least for now,_ she mused to herself as she chewed on a poffin, _but for how long until 'chivalry' demands that he know who scarred 'the fair maiden', ugh._

Mira cracked open the Pinon nut in her paw and savored the taste of the meat inside, _roasted Pinon nuts ... who would have thought they'd taste so good?_ She hesitated and then allowed herself a sad smile, _I bet you would have loved these Jack, you would have loved Leal as well._ Her throat suddenly squeezed tight and she hurried to drink some water. But even as she sipped the clear liquid, she knew it wasn't the food that had closed her throat. _I miss you so much, Jack..._

Leal looked up, his dreadlocks twitching rapidly, "What's wrong? I ... I sense extreme pain from you, are you well? Do I need to call a healer?"

Mira shook her head and didn't bother pasting on a false smile, she knew it wouldn't fool a Riolu. She stubbornly sipped at her water, willing the stabbing pain in her chest to go away and for her throat to clear. When she decided she could safely speak without sounding weak she growled, "I'm fine. No offense, but while you have been most gentlemanly to me, my emotions or thoughts are none of your business."

Leal recoiled slightly, probably horrified at the insinuation that he had accidentally invaded her personal space. Mira didn't bother soothing him, she had suddenly found it hard to breathe inside the cafe. She stood and sprinted for the door, ignoring Leal's shouts of dismay and his loud apologies for his unknown slight. Mira refused to hear him, she kept running, out of the cafe, down the tree shaded road, past the shaded pool, out into the murderous heat of Kasai Desert.

She ran until she was a safe distance from the village and looked around, ears up, nose twitching. Once she was absolutely sure that there was no Pokemon around to observe her, she whirled on a nearby cactus, and screamed. Lightning coursed through her body, vibrating almost soothingly in her cheek pouches before unleashing itself upon the helpless inanimate cactus.

The cactus exploded into a million smoking pieces. Mira screamed again and again, lightning shooting from her cheek pouches rapid succession attacks that disintegrated even the smallest pieces of the cactus that were currently lying all around her. Finally, when there wasn't even the tiniest trace of the spiky plant, she stopped screaming and simply stood there, panting and sobbing angrily.

She stared through tear blurred eyes around at the smoke tendrils issuing from different spots on the dry ground, Mira swallowed hard and sniffled, trying to get her suddenly errant emotions in check. _I need to get a grip ... this is irresponsible and stupid. I have to get control of myself ..._ Mira shook her head hard and focused on breathing deeply. She hiccuped once or twice and curled up on the hot sand for a long time before her breathing returned to normal and the urge to murder someone had vanished into the darkest parts of her mind.

When she finally opened her eyes, the sun was beginning its slow descent from the sky and purplish pink wisps of cloud arched and curled in preparation of the night's rest. _Did I doze off? How late is it? How long have I been out here?_ Mira scrambled to her feet and stretched, working the small kinks out of her muscles that had crept in during her unintentional nap.

Mira's eyes felt grubby and despite her body having rested, her earlier tantrum had utterly drained her. Rubbing her eyes with her paws, she looked all around at the straggly bushes, big rocks, and occasional Pinon Pine trees. _This place is kind of beautiful, in a hot, dry, abandoned sort of way._

The quiet, sensible part of her brain that never seemed to pipe up except when it most irked her, produced an image of Ahanu and flaunted it in front of her mind's eye. Mira groaned, _I don't get a break do I?_ She tried to ignore the image, the last thing that she needed now was a nosey wobbuffet inquiring into the nature of her first total breakdown. _Though I guess I did have one coming ... I just didn't think something so tiny as going to lunch would finally cause me to snap._

She looked over her shoulder and winced, _right, lunch. Where I ran out on an emotion sensitive riolu ... I'll bet my little fit caused him one onix sized headache. Great, now I'll have _**_two_**_ male Pokemon nosing around my private life._ Feeling utterly miserable, Mira seriously considered simply walking away from Onidrill Village, covering her tracks so that Ahanu couldn't follow her and continuing on alone like she had originally planned.

Mira suddenly straightened, her green eyes flaring with determination. _No, I don't run away from anything. Especially not my responsibilities to another Pokemon._ Her shoulders slumped a tiny bit, _no matter how much I want to._ Slowly, Mira forced herself to walk back to the village, she had supplies to gather, a wobbuffet to find ... and an apology to make to a certain riolu.


	6. Chapter 6

**Review response: Dear Shadow Snivy, hi again! Thank you for the grammar correction ... although I'll admit that I'm slightly embarrassed, I could have sworn I checked the internet for the correct spelling of rhyhorn over five times. I'm honored that you think my story is worthy of more attention, I work very hard on it. As for the Guardian, you will want to pay close attention to this chapter! I've laid a rather large hint as to this mysterious Pokemon's identity.**

**Dear Alice-Chan123, thank you for the correction in Pokemon types. I incorrectly assumed that because ground-types and rock-types were so similar that they had the same immunity to electricity. I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far and hope you like this chapter just as much!**

**Dear Eevee-Snivy, hello again! I'm thrilled that you enjoy this story so much! So, you really like the hotel room as well, hmm? I'm beginning to notice a pattern here, not that I mind. I love Mira's name too, it took me almost an hour to pick it out from a naming site. Fun fact, the reason I picked that name for her was because of two of its many meanings, the hebrew meaning 'bitter' and the latin meaning 'worthy of admiration'. The meanings were such polar opposites, much like Mira's adorable species versus her serious and bitter personality, that I chose it instantly. Most of the main characters' names have meanings that relate to either their species type or a major personality trait. Oh, one last thing, this is in fact the same world as Unova and Kanto. However, as I haven't settled on an exact location yet, I cannot pinpoint it for you anymore than that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Pokemon or anything in it, the only things I own are the plot and characters.**

* * *

**Chapter Six: **

** Intersection**

Mira did her best to tune out Ahanu's happy ramblings, _Why does his happiness or his fear or just about any emotion he has seem to require that he express it in constant, nonstop, _**_incessant talking_**_?_ Silently, she reminded herself not to complain, _At least he isn't compelled to sing like yesterday._ She suppressed a shudder, _He has a singing voice like a skitty who's tail has been run over by a truck._ A cheekier side of her mind spoke up randomly, _Now, now, Mira. Don't be so cruel ... the skitty wouldn't sound anywhere near as bad as that Wobbuffet._

Mira almost chuckled at her own joke when her ears picked up a sound that didn't belong. She paused in mid-step, turning her ears in the direction of the sound in an effort to focus on it and not Ahanu, who was currently rambling about how he preferred his berries well dried instead of fresh. _Honestly? Who would care? _Her voice was cold and cut Ahanu's chatter off at the proverbial bud, "Shut up."

Ahanu quieted instantly, his hurt expression going unnoticed by Mira as she resumed walking. As Mira walked, her ears were tuned in to the barely audible noise of paw steps behind them, their mysterious stalker was at it again. Ever since they had left Onidrill Village, Mira had gotten the impression that they were being followed, but had been unable to fully confirm the suspicion.

_Time to change that._ Mira closed her eyes, allowing her ears to do all of detection work. The tiny crunch of pebbles grew more noticeable to her, but with Ahanu tramping along beside her there was no way to pinpoint the sound. Mira opened her eyes and glanced upward, the sun was just barely peeking around the edges of the huge mountain that stood at the center of the island.

When they had set out from Onidrill Village two days ago she had decided that traveling in the early morning, resting in the afternoon, and then walking through the evening would be better for them. She had learned long ago that walking during the cool hours of the day was always more productive then exhausting oneself under the hot noon sun.

It made it easier to fight if you were moderately well rested but healthily warmed up than if you were dehydrated and sweating like a river in the spring. The risk that their stalker might turn out to be hostile made that knowledge seem even more wise than when she had first learned it.

However, Mira was tired of waiting to find out. She suddenly stopped, turned, and shouted icily to the bushes behind them, "I know you're there. Come out and declare your intentions before I fry every piece of shrubbery within this square mile."

There was a small pause, "Who are you shouting at, Mira?" asked Ahanu skeptically, "There is no one on this road but us-"

Ahanu was proven wrong when Leal Riolu slowly stepped out from hiding. Leal looked slightly puzzled, "It's me, Leal. How did you know I was there? I am known as one of the stealthiest members of my entire clan."

Mira wasn't going to admit that she had almost not noticed him, she was too angry that he had dared try to follow her in secret. She went nose to nose with him and threateningly sparked her cheeks, "Why were you following me?"

Leal backed up a step and bowed apologetically, "I am sorry, I know sneaking around in such a manner is not a noble thing to do but be assured, I was only doing it out of concern for your safety!"

Mira stopped sparking and looked puzzled, "You were concerned for my safety? Why?"

Ahanu barreled into the conversation, probably to make himself look brave in front of Mira, "Yeah? Mira is perfectly safe, I'll protect her from anything that comes around!"

Mira rolled her eyes and was about to order Ahanu to shut his big mouth when Leal bristled and threw a punch at the Wobbuffet. Ahanu was too startled to deflect the blow with Counter and so he fell flat on his back on the dusty ground. Mira bristled and lunged between the two, "What did you hit him for?" she yelled at Leal.

Leal looked genuinely baffled, "Because he has repeatedly tried to physically soil your innocence ... isn't that what you said back at the cafe? I have come to defend your honor and make him leave you alone!" He looked past her at Ahanu, "As for you! Mira was brave enough to save your pathetic life and you repay her by constantly molesting her person? Shame on you, shame I say!"

Mira kept herself firmly between them and mentally searched for an answer on what would lead Leal to **that** conclusion. _When did I ever say that he was trying to molest me? If he had, I would have burned him to a crisp already! What ever gave him the idea...?_

A brief snatch of her previous talk with Leal in the cafe floated into her mind, Leal had asked if Ahanu had bothered her, placing what she had, at the time, thought to be to much stress on the word 'bothered'. Mira had responded in a way that assumed Leal had been asking if Ahanu was being annoying and had answered truthfully, he had been very annoying.

Something in her brain clicked, _Oh._ She sighed, "I didn't say that Leal, I thought you were asking if Ahanu had been annoying. I in no way meant that he had threatened my person," she glared at the Riolu, "because if he had, he would have been roast wobbuffet long before we met."

Leal looked utterly deflated and Ahanu looked completely horrified. Leal's ears flattened and his tail drooped, "You mean ... then you weren't? Oh my." He turned to Ahanu, "I deeply apologize, Ahanu Wobbuffet! I misunderstood what Madam Mira said ... Is there any way I can make it up to you? Both of you?"

Mira felt an unwanted sense of Deja Vu, _No, I am not going to acquire another unwanted male. One is too many as it is!_ "There is nothing to apologize for," she stated hastily, "it was an honest mistake and no one was seriously injured. You don't have to make it up to us."

Ahanu protested, "Nothing to apologize for? He accused me of wanting to harm you! He accused me of being..." Ahanu struggled to find a word less rude than the one that immediately came to mind, "indecent!" he supplied at last. Mira felt like slugging him, _If this blue blob persuades Leal to stick around I am going to murder him with my own two paws!_

Leal shifted from one foot to the other, "I know and I agree that I must make up for the slander against your honor. Normally I would allow you to challenge me to a duel, but since one of you is a lady and the other of you is a Patient Pokemon, I must offer to escort you anywhere you wish to go and hope that along the way I can redeem myself."

Mira groaned and promptly slapped her face with a paw. _No ... just no! Why me? Why does every Pokemon in the world want to follow me around? I'm not even attractive!_ She glared at the two of them, "Absolutely not! I don't need two of you trailing around with me like lost growlithe pups!"

Both Leal and Ahanu visibly drooped and Mira knew she had grievously wounded their prides and feelings. Ahanu protested softly, "But ... but ... my life debt! If I do not fulfill it, I will be outcast from my clan forever. I will never find a mate, or be allowed to have any dealings with anyone on the island."

Leal also piped up miserably, "I have insulted the honor of a Pokemon under an oath of life and thus by extension, you, a lady of a noble clan. If I cannot make amends, I will be forever known as a slanderer of innocents! Nothing but a roadside brigand..."

Mira pinched her tiny snout and tried to ignore the headache forming in her skull, "Oh, please stop with the over-dramatics! If it means that much to you then **fine**. Just don't even think about babying me or inquiring into my life," she opened her eyes and glared at the two of them in turn, "Because if you do, I will will personally feed you to a swalot... got it?"

Leal looked both happy at being able to come and taken aback at the violence promised in her threat. Ahanu simply looked overjoyed that she was allowing him to still come along. The Wobbuffet clapped his nonexistent paws together happily, "Then let's get going! Airmd Town, here we come!"

Mira growled under her breath as she set off down the road once more, now with two male companions instead of one. Silence hung over the three travelers like a cloud for the next hour. The sun climbed higher in the sky, bathing Kasai Desert in light and ever growing heat. Mira glanced over her shoulder to where Leal and Ahanu were trudging side by side in silence. _Could they be any more pathetic?_

She sighed, _I suppose I should talk to them or something._ She gently rubbed her scar with one paw and adjusted her satchel with the other. Raising her voice slightly so that Leal would hear, "So, Leal, tell me what you know about the Guardian."

Leal instantly sped up his pace so that he was next to her and began to talk eagerly, "All right! As you know, the Guardian has watched over this island for hundreds of years. As far back as anyone can remember, it has always been known that the Guardian was there, watching and protecting the island and its inhabitants."

Mira suppressed the urge to look over her shoulder in case 'the Guardian' was right behind her. _Sounds kind of creepy to think that some Pokemon is watching our every move._ "What does the Guardian look like? Have you ever met him?"

Leal shook his head, "Unfortunately, no. No one has ever seen the Guardian or met him in person. At least, no one who is still alive or recorded their meeting. The head of my clan said that closest thing anyone gets to seeing the Guardian is by watching the storms that herald his presence as he passes overhead."

Mira mused over that, her memories flying back to the storm that had nearly taken her life, _Did this mysterious Guardian cause that storm? If so, I'll make sure to reserve an Iron Tail attack with his name on it. Odd though, very few Pokemon can manipulate the weather _**_and_**_ fly and the ones that I know of don't live for hundreds of years ... maybe this Guardian is really a clan of Pokemon?_

She looked over at Leal, "What is he guarding the island from? Also, if he has never been seen, then how do you know that the Guardian is a he?"

Leal opened his mouth, frowned, and closed it again. He mused over this for several seconds, "I actually don't know the answer to either of those questions. However, I can tell you a legend that might."

Mira dipped her head in consent and Leal continued, "My clan was long ago placed in charge of the Great Record. On this record every major event to happen on the island is written down. The Great Record says that long ago, a great darkness swept in from across the ocean, destroying everything in its path and ruining this island. Pokemon lived in constant fear of the darkness and all hope of peace and freedom seemed lost. Until the Guardian came that is."

Leal looked longingly up into the sky and Mira privately rolled her eyes, _this legend sounds original ... _**_not_**_!_ Leal continued speaking, "The legend goes on to say that the Guardian was born of the ocean itself, a legendary sent to fight the darkness. He summoned the most pure hearted Pokemon on the entire island, the ones who still had the will to fight and lead them in a great battle against it, forever destroying its hold on this island and sending it back to its home across the ocean."

Leal expressively spread his paws wide, "While all of the other Pokemon celebrated their newfound freedom, the Guardian did not. He feared that the darkness would one day return to try to enslave his friends again. So, he disappeared into the ocean to forever guard our borders, leaving behind only two things, the command to rebuild the isle as one united nation ... and a small feather in the shape of a silver wing."

Mira froze, "A silver wing?" _I've heard of that before ... but where?_

Leal nodded, "Yes, the Silver Wing has been the symbol of our unity ever since and it is kept under constant guard in Doragon City. It is the greatest of honors to be a member of Silver Wing Sentinels."

Ahanu waddled abreast to them dreamily, "Wow, to be a Silver Wing Sentinel ... no wobbuffet has ever been admitted into that order you know." He suddenly stiffened and threw a salute to nobody in particular, "Thats it! That is what I'm going to be! Once my life debt is repaid, I will become the first wobbuffet to join the Silver Wing Sentinels!"

Leal clapped him on the back, "A noble calling, friend Ahanu! A noble calling for a noble wobbuffet!"

Mira did her best not to gag at their dramatics, _if he wants to be a Silver Wing Sentinel, go ahead! Save me the trouble of dragging around a wobbuffet everywhere!_ Knowing that they weren't paying any attention to her, she growled "I'm going to scout ahead," and ran off down the road.

As she sped down the road, the heat beginning to bother her, she realized that it was almost noon. She looked up and spotted a Pinon Pine sitting politely at the very crest of a small hill in front of her, _I'll wait for them there._ She forced her limbs to gain speed as the path climbed the hill.

The sight that greeted her when she crested it forced her to stop so fast that she almost tipped over. _Wow ..._ The hill ended in an almost sheer drop to a valley far below. Winding through the heart of the valley ran a fast flowing river, its blue line seeming to represent an smeargle's dividing mark between two separate paintings forced to share the same canvas.

On her side, there was the orange stone of the cliff at her feet, the yellow of the sandy dirt and the faded green of the scrub bushes and Pinon trees. Sitting in the midst of the dryness, was a very large collection of lumps that Mira could only assume was Airmd Town.

Her gaze traveled to the other side of the river where the almost polar opposite of Kasai Desert stretched out proudly. Green grass as far as her eyes could see, rising and falling across naturally made hills that made the entire scene look like a rippling lake of green. _Whoa, talk about sharp contrast. I've never seen an island divided up so neatly by nature. It looks ... planned. Like someone designed and constructed this island into different parts and used the river as a dividing line._

Mira sat down slowly against the rough bark of the shady Pinon Pine, utterly speechless at the sight before her. It took several minutes before Mira shook off her awe and settled in to eat some lunch. As she ate one of the poffins the Onidrill Village baker had packed for her, she continued to marvel at the view.

Leal and Ahanu's voices carried softly from below. Mira couldn't resist calling to them, "Hurry up you two! You have got to see this!" There was a pause and then Mira heard Leal break into a run. More to the truth, she heard Ahanu's wail of complaint at running that told her Leal increased his pace.

When the two Pokemon crested the hill, they reacted to the view the same way she had. They skidded to a stop and gaped in awe. When Ahanu whispered numbly, "So ... much ... green." Mira burst out laughing and nearly choked on her poffin.

Leal breathed out softly, "I had heard that seeing the Grasslands for the first time was an unforgettable experience ... but this is truly beyond description."

Mira's laughter had died down to quiet chuckles. She patted the ground next to her, "Well sit down over here before you fall off that cliff. We need to eat something before trying to make it down to Airmd Town."

Ahanu and Leal were soon sitting next to her, munching silently on poffins from their satchels and admiring the view below them. Ahanu finally spoke up, "Uh, how do we get down there, exactly?"

Mira nodded to the path, "That path goes down a ledge all the way to the bottom. We'll have to be careful not to slip, but it shouldn't be too hard."

Ahanu looked suddenly miserable, "Easy for you to say, you don't have four legs all within a few centimeters of each other to coordinate."

Mira scowled at him, "Either suck it up and brave the ledge or stay here by yourself. Ledge walking isn't that hard, Wobbuffet."

Leal took the more compassionate approach and tried to bribe Ahanu into bravery, "A Silver Wing Sentinel wouldn't be afraid of a little ledge. You want to be a Sentinel don't you?"

Ahanu looked nervously from the cliff to Leal and then straightened, "You're right, Leal! If I'm going to be a Sentinel, then something as little as a cliff with jagged rocks waiting at the base of it to skewer unlucky travelers who slip isn't going to scare me! No sir, not one bit!"

Leal clapped Ahanu on the back again, "Good! Then let us be off!" He happily strapped on his satchel, not noticing how Ahanu withered under the prospect of 'ledge walking'.

Mira packed up her other poffins, closed up the satchel and wound the long strap over her head and around her middle so the bag would hang across her back and not interfere with her arms. Leal helped Ahanu do the same and the three were soon standing on the cliff's edge, preparing to make their cautious way down the ledge.

Mira led the way, Ahanu crept along in the middle, and Leal took the rear to help ensure that Ahanu wouldn't panic and fall to his death. The wind chose that moment to start blowing. Mira's ears flapped under the stiff abuse and she had to concentrate on keeping her footing. The ledge, while small, was thankfully large enough for one Pokemon to walk along without pressing themselves flat against the cliff wall.

Glancing back over her shoulder, Mira mentally corrected, _allow a Pokemon with any spine at all to walk without pressing their big blob of a blue face against the wall anyway._ She turned her gaze forward and braced herself as another sudden gust whipped past, clawing at her face and fur as if hoping to knock her off the path. _Nu-uh, my training couldn't kill me and the ocean had no better luck. I'm not letting a little breeze knock me off course!_

Mira pressed on, bending her body slightly whenever a gust blasted them. The path was a switchbacked, tricky thing and soon it was the satchels on their backs that were being attacked by the wind. Still, they continued down without tripping or loosing their balance and after about ten minutes were halfway down the cliff.

Ahanu whimpered and yelled over the current gust that was assaulting them, "I think I felt the ledge move!"

Mira glared at him impatiently, "You've been saying that for the past five minutes! It's simply your imagination!" As she took another step forward, fate seemed to decide it was high time to remind her of her fragile mortality.

With an ominous rumble, the part of the path she was walking across gave way. Mira was suddenly in thin air, she yelled the first thing on her lips, "Pika!" Everything became slow motion, she could see Ahanu reaching out to her, leaning dangerously over the edge in an effort to catch her. Glancing around, she saw that she was falling amidst the path debris, large rocks that threatened to smash her skull if the impact with the ground didn't. _Got to keep close to the cliff! Then I'll just land on the path below and roll with it!_

She flailed, her paws grappling at the air, trying to stop her body from turning upside down. For what seemed like a gut wrenching eternity, her heart stopped. Mira was sure that this would either be the end of her and she would never feel it, or she would live to hurt like Yvetel's Oblivion Wing.

* * *

Leal watched in horror as Mira Pikachu twisted in the air, nothing between her and death. _I have to save her! But how?_ "Mira!" Following some desperation-born instinct, he leaped over Ahanu's head and stretched his arms out, "Catch my legs!" He yelled to Ahanu.

Amazingly, Ahanu actually listened to Leal's shout and reacted in time to wrap his rubbery arms around the Riolu's legs. Leal's paws reached out for Mira's tail, his claws fully extended, his body stretching to its maximum in a futile attempt to catch her. His paws clamped shut ... on thin air, "No! **Mira**!"

* * *

She curled tightly into a ball, her paws tucked in against her stomach, ears flat against her skull, and her face buried in her paws. Only her tail remained untucked, it stuck out like a lightning shaped flag from her now mostly circular body.

She thumped onto the switchback of the path and rolled. Debris hammering her body as she bumped and rolled uncontrollably, inwardly praying that she didn't roll right off of the path's edge. However, her back colliding painfully with the cliff side through her satchel was enough to convince her that she had not been rolling in that direction.

She opened her eyes cautiously, she was upside down, her back and tail pressed against the side of the cliff. The debris lay a short distance away from her, a few chunks of it spattered in red liquid that she was sure must be her blood. Mira exhaled slowly, half afraid to move lest the path give way again.

Leal's voice shouted from above, "Mira! Mira are you all right? Answer me!" Mira craned her neck and looked upwards, Leal was dangling upside down from Ahanu's arms, his expression worried.

Mira gave a breathless thumbs up with her paws and slowly rolled onto her stomach, wincing at the loud protests from her back. _Can't I go more than a week without injury ... just once? Even when I'm in exile? Even with a satchel full of now squashed berries protecting me?_ "I'm okay ... just get down here safely."

Leal laughed in relief, "As you wish, Mira. Ahanu! Release my legs!"

Ahanu grunted laboriously, "Are ... you ... nuts?"

Leal glanced up at him, "No, I am quite serious, let me go!"

Ahanu hesitantly released his hold on Leal's legs. Leal twisted expertly in the air to land flawlessly on the path below. He ran over to Mira, "Are you sure you are well?" He spotted the long scratches on her back, "You are injured!"

Mira snorted, stood, and carefully dusted herself off, ignoring the stinging sensations in her legs, hips, and tail, "Nonsense, they're just scratches. Once we get to town I'll see the healer." She looked up to see Ahanu still standing next to where the path gave way, "Get down here, Wobbuffet!"

Ahanu moaned and after a moment's hesitation, began backing up, bluff charging and backing up again, trying to work up the nerve to jump. Mira waited patiently until he was bluff charging again and just before he stopped, she yelled, "Hurry up!"

The shout startled Ahanu, causing him to lose his balance and fall ungracefully onto the path in front of her on his face. Leal braced himself against another bout of increasingly annoying wind and hurried over to the Wobbuffet's side, "Are you all right?"

Ahanu wobbled to his feet and mumbled, Mira could just barely make out his words over the wind, "Yes, I'm okay. It was only my **face** after all."

Mira walked past him, hoping that he wouldn't notice her scratches, "Good, as long as you didn't anything injure anything vital, we can keep going." _More carefully than before though. _The three companions resumed their trek down the cliff side, however they were all much more cautious as they fought the wind that buffeted them from different directions every time they crossed another switchback.

By the time they reached the bottom of the cliff and set foot on the wide, non-treacherous path, all three of them were fairly exhausted. Ahanu looked hopefully at Mira, "When we get to Airmd Town, we're going to get some sleep in an inn ... right?"

Mira shrugged moodily, her hips were really beginning to hurt from the rock scratches, "You didn't need my permission to go to sleep last time. Do what you want as long as it doesn't involve pestering me." Ahanu looked sheepish.

Leal gently chastised Mira, "You should not be so harsh on Ahanu. He is only doing his duty..." Mira knew she was being unnecessarily rough on Ahanu, but she was too irritated and in pain to really regret it at the moment.

As they entered Airmd Town, the busy sounds of many Pokemon living in one place reached their ears. The streets were filled with Pokemon of many different types, Rock, Ground, Fire, Electric, and Dragon, just to name a few. Overhead, several spearow and a fearow circled, looking for a target of opportunity to present itself for the avian gangsters.

Mira led the group towards the nearest inn, throwing a fierce glare in the direction of the flying gang. She despised bullies, especially the kind that used their bullying skills to steal from the hard working.

While Leal rented a room and Ahanu searched for food, Mira found a secluded alleyway just outside the inn, quietly unwound her satchel, and searched for a un-squashed berry that would heal her scratches. Mira knew that she should have done this on the cliff path, but she hadn't wanted to stay on the cliff for any longer then necessary. The fall had shaken her up worse then she would admit, even to herself.

Finally, she found an Oran Berry that had come away from her collision unscathed. _Yeah, berries as hard as rocks tend to do that._ Mira chewed on the hard berry, feeling its healing affects spread through her body, rejuvenating her muscles and closing the scratches on her hips and legs. She sighed quietly with relief as the pain faded away.

She glanced down into her satchel and winced, her rolling escapade had successfully mashed her poffins and berries into one sticky mass in her satchel. _Cleaning time ... great, just great._ Suddenly, she noticed that the sounds on the street had changed in tone. Instead of the friendly hubbub of Pokemon talking, buying, and selling, there was the more frenzied tone possessing the streets.

She pricked her ears in time to catch the shout of, "Hurry! Grasslanders are coming! Ready the ferry!" _Grasslanders? This might be interesting._ Mira slung her satchel over her shoulder and followed the sounds of the crowd. When she reached the river bank, it was mildly clogged with curious onlookers, all eyes on the small figures standing on the shore next to a huge tree. Mira watched as a skarmory flapped overhead, a woven rope clamped firmly in his talons. The other end of the rope was tied firmly to a wooden raft which bumped and jostled unsteadily in the current of the fast-flowing river.

Mira studied the group on the far side as they began to board the bobbing raft. The first to board was a squirtle, the Squirtle looked excited and happily jigged on the raft. _Why not swim across? Maybe the current is too fast to be safe for a small Water-Type._ Next, Mira was sure she saw the graceful four legged motions of an eevee, his brown and cream fur standing out against the green background.

The Eevee was wrestling with an Aipom, his teeth clamped firmly on the satchel strap so that he could forcibly drag the howling Aipom onto the ferry. _Good grief, I can hear him over the river! And here I thought Ahanu was bad..._ Finally, all but one of travelers had boarded the ferry. Mira felt a touch of surprise, the last passenger was a charmander. _I haven't seen one of those since my journey to Kanto. It looks like almost every Pokemon in existence has at least one representative here!_

In the back of her mind, Mira wondered how an island could have such a diverse population and yet not have even a single Pikachu for a native. _I don't count, either. I got washed up here a couple weeks ago so I can't be considered a native._

The Charmander, like all Fire-types, had a reason to be nervous of water. However, this nervousness went at least double for charmanders because of the flame on their tail tip. This flame was somehow tied to their health, if a charmander was sick or injured, the flame would decrease. This also worked the other way around, if a charmander's flame went out, they would die.

Finally, after much coaxing from the other travelers, the Charmander boarded the ferry. Even from her position on the far bank, Mira could see how scared he was by how he clutched at his tail, holding it as high above the river as he could manage. She couldn't resist sympathizing, her newly developed phobia of water was pestering her even now to get away from the river bank and to higher ground.

Skarmory gave a screeching cry of, "Here we go!" that carried clearly on the air and began flapping back towards Airmd town, his powerful steel wings keeping the ferry on course even as the river sought to sweep it away. Mira watched as the ferry swayed and jerked, water splashing across it as the passengers held on for dear life.

Despite the rails along the sides of the ferry, the Eevee appeared to be having extreme trouble holding on. The Aipom next to him, attempted to hold the Eevee with his three fingered tail-hand but by now all of them were soaked. Mira noted that the Charmander looked utterly miserable and was stubbornly using one paw to hold his tail away from the water and the other paw to cling grimly to the rail.

A sudden cry went up, "Look out! Flotsam!" Mira snapped her head to left, a large branch, probably knocked loose by the recent storms, was bearing down on the ferry. The Skarmory hissed and flapped harder, trying to pull the raft out of the way of the branch. The travelers were now at the very center of the river, clinging for dear life. The Squirtle looked frustrated, most likely wishing that there was an extra rope.

_Why aren't there any Water-types out there? They could help!_ Mira whirled on a fellow bystander, "Why aren't the Water-types helping? I can see their dens on the other riverbank!"

The Sandslash she had asked shook his head and shouted with excitement, "The river has been swelled by the recent flash floods and storms, many of the Water Pokemon have moved to temporary dens upstream. There simply isn't anyone over there strong enough to help! Those currents would be tough for even a fully evolved Water-type!"

Mira bit her lip, feeling helpless as the branch swept ever closer to the struggling ferry. The Skarmory was pulling for all of his worth, his wings making humming noises in the air they were moving so fast. For a second, Mira thought that the ferry might make it unscathed. However, just as the raft seemed clear, the branch was spun by the current, causing it to hit a heavy but glancing blow to one corner of the raft ... the Eevee's corner to be exact.

With a cry, the Eevee slipped, plummeting into the rushing water. Mira gasped, _no! That Eevee will drown in that current!_ Without thinking, Mira's body sprang into action. She shot off down the bank, her legs pumping, heart racing as she tried to catch up with the frantically paddling Eevee.

Behind her, the Squirtle had leapt off of the raft and was swimming for the lost Eevee. Mira looked around desperately, trying to find something she could use to help the Eevee._ Tree branch, I need a tree branch! Or a whole tree! Something!_ She glanced back at the river, the Eevee had gone under the water. _Where is he? _The Squirtle dived, disappearing under the surging water to find the lost Eevee.

Mira returned her gaze the bank she was running along. An old Pinon tree loomed before her, its roots were bare and an unhealthy part of the bank had been washed out from under it. It was tilted towards the river, holding on grimly by a few slender roots. _Bingo! Now if I can just get the Squirtle to grab it ..._ She looked back to the river where the Squirtle had just surfaced, the Eevee lying limp on her shell. Mira shouted as loudly as she could to the Squirtle, "I'll knock down the tree! Get ready to grab it!"

The Squirtle didn't respond but Mira got the impression that she heard. Mira turned her attention back to the tree and began focusing energy into her tail. She sprinted as fast as her legs could carry her, slowly pulling ahead of the Squirtle.

She tensed her muscles, narrowed her eyes, and lunged. Leaping into the air with a loud yell, she somersaulted tightly throwing all of her momentum and weight into her gleaming tail. Her tail, hard as iron and glowing like silver, slammed into the base of the tree, just above the few roots that held it in place.

The tree groaned loudly and tipped over into the river, its many branches submerging into the fast flowing current. Mira's eyes searched for the Squirtle, _come on, come on! Where are you? This tree won't hold forever!_ Suddenly, she spotted the muddy brown color of the Eevee peeking out of the water just in front of the felled tree.

The Squirtle reached out of the water and grabbed at Pinon tree with a paw. Mira instantly realized that the Squirtle couldn't pull herself to safety and hold the limp Eevee at the same time. The tree was swaying dangerously, threatening to break from the bank and float away in the harsh current at any moment. Mira stood at the base of the tree, her heart hammering as she tried to move. _I have to help ... I have to help, legs! Move!_

Mira felt almost light headed as she forced herself onto the tree trunk. The river splashed across it, making the trunk slippery and Mira's gut twisted with terror. Mira paused, took a deep breath, and then kept running towards the end of the tree, coercing her eyes to look straight ahead.

By the time she reached the Squirtle, Mira's heart was humming a thousand miles a minute and the tree was threatening to give way. Mira shakily leaned down and shouted over the roar of the river, "Pass me the Eevee!" The Squirtle looked up at her in surprise. She nodded and slowly shifted the Eevee off of her shell and towards the terrified Pikachu.

Mira grabbed the ruff of the semi-conscious Eevee and carefully started dragging him onto the tree trunk beside her. As she shifted her body to finish placing the Eevee next to her, Mira's back paws slipped on the slick tree bark. With a cry of terror, she went down on all fours, clutching the side of the groaning tree while the river licked and slurped greedily at her tail haunches.

_No! Not again! Please!_ Mira's vision became as if she was in a tunnel, she could see a tiny patch of sky and brown bark but nothing else. The roaring of the rushing water below her merged with the hammering of her heart in her throat to deafen her ears. Through the panic and horrible half-memories that assaulted her, she felt teeth grip her neck firmly and slowly drag her back onto the trunk.

Her vision slowly cleared, she looked up numbly. The Eevee panted and nodded to her, "We ... need to ... get going. Help me with Cora..." Mira stared at him blankly for several seconds before shaking off her panic and standing up shakily. _He ... he's conscious? But, he looked half dead a moment ago._

The two Pokemon worked together to carefully drag Cora onto the fallen tree. Looking up, Mira could see a rescue party bearing down on them. The tree groaned again and this time Mira heard one of the roots snap. The tree jolted and sank lower into the water menacingly. _That rescue party better hurry!_ The Eevee coughed weakly, "Come on, this tree won't hold much longer."

Mira lead the way back across the now sopping wet trunk. She was followed by the Eevee and the Squirtle. She glanced over at the incoming rescue party, it appeared to be made up of the other travelers, the Skarmory and several brave Ground-type Pokemon.

_Got to get to safety ... this tree's roots won't hold._ As if to back up Mira's thoughts, there was another gut wrenching snap and with a lurch, the tree broke free. All three of the stranded Pokemon yelled in terror and clutched at the tree as it bobbed and jerked into the center of the river. Mira squeezed her eyes shut, her stomach churning with raw fear. _No ... please no._


	7. Chapter 7

**Review response: Dear Alice-Chan123, hello! I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger, because there will most likely be more of them to come. As always, I am extremely pleased that you enjoy my story and even more so when you review! Review's always seem to help me get past my writer's block and push on to the next adventure.**

**I do not own the world of Pokemon or anything it contains. The only things I own are the characters and plot.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven:**

**Strangers**

Castor ran as fast as he could, trying to reach his friends in time to help them somehow, "Cora! Dale! Hang on!" Castor saw the tree that his friends were trapped on break loose and get tossed to the middle of the river. _No! The tree has broken free! How are we going to catch it now?_

* * *

Dale clung grimly to the tree, his muscles sore and his ears ringing from the roar of the water. He was utterly soaked and quite frankly, terrified. Even Cora, a Water-type was scared of the rushing current. She was too small to swim to safety, especially not with passengers. So, the three Pokemon, Dale, Cora, and a Pokemon that he had never seen before, all clung for their lives on the tree as it bucked and swayed on the swollen waters.

He squeezed his eyes shut as another wave crested their makeshift boat and splashed them. Though he couldn't be sure, he thought he heard a whimper from the stranger lying next to him. _She's probably a Ground-Type, they hate water._ If Dale was completely honest with himself, he was beginning to agree with them.

Airmd Town had already disappeared and the landscape was practically a blur of color on either side. _We must be going at an impressive speed, pity I can't enjoy it from the dry safety of somewhere else!_ Cora's voice shouted to him, "The ocean! We're headed towards the ocean and a waterfall!"

Dale looked up ahead of them, the tree had rotated in the water so that the remnants of the roots were pointed downstream. This now gave him a clear view of the ocean on the not-so-distant horizon ... and the waterfall that was even closer. _Oh, man! It would be a waterfall wouldn't it!_ Even though he knew it was obvious, Dale shouted, "Hang on for all you're worth!"

With a chorus of terrified screams, they flew out of the water and into thin air. _This is like a stupid story kits are told at night! _He yelled the end of his thought, "And I don't want any part of it!"

Dale's paws slipped and he flew almost eerily away from the tree. He flailed in midair, screaming for all of his worth. Dale squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for gravity to claim him and smash him mercilessly against the beach below. An eternity seemed to pass, and he still wasn't falling to his death. He cracked an eye open fearfully and then quickly widened both eyes fully open in shock.

He was floating weightlessly in the air, surrounded by a strange red energy that kept him hovering in the air. _What?_ Looking over to his right, he saw that both Cora and the stranger were hovering next to him, surrounded by the same energy. Looking down, he saw that the tree had fallen to its doom.

Dale looked up at the hovering stranger, "Um, are you doing this?" She shook her head so hard it made her long black tipped ears flap. He frowned, "Then who is?"

The three began floating gently towards a cave opening set in the cliff side. Dale concentrated hard and suddenly spotted the telltale gleam of a Pokemon's eyes when they used a psychic levitation. Cora piped up, "I get the feeling we're about to find out."

As the three floated into the cave, Dale felt his heart rate begin to slow to normal speeds. Without waiting to see who their rescuer was, he spoke up humbly, "Thank you for saving us. I thought-"

A deep voice growled over the rest of his words, "You thought you were going to die, I know. Your screaming disturbed my meditation." The figure who had saved them came into view and Dale wiggled his ears in surprise. It was a member of the Gengar clan. _A Ghost-type, wow. No wonder he's angry, they say that Ghost-types get their name from being able to disappear into other worlds when they meditate..._

Cora gasped quietly, forcing Dale to look past the Gengar into the dark end of the cave. His jaw dropped when he spotted a silent member of the Greninja clan, highly secretive Water/Dark-types capable of fierce high-speed attacks. _What is a Dark-type doing with a Ghost-type?_

The Greninja was a large, bipedal, frog-like Pokémon. Its body and legs were purple, with single large white spots on its legs, arms, and over its eyes. Its back feet had two toes, while its front hands had three fingers. Like all Greninja, its hands and feet were webbed. It had a yellow chest and a yellow-and-purple face. Its eyes were an intimidating combination of white sclera, red irises, and white pupils. A large, projecting purple stripe ran down the middle of its head, with projecting blue stripes in between its large, yellow ears. Its mouth was hidden behind a large, pink tongue that wrapped around its neck and extended outward behind its head like a scarf.

The Gengar, except for a similar color, was almost completely opposite of his companion. A dark purple, bipedal Pokémon with a roundish body. He had red eyes and a wide frowning mouth. Multiple spikes covered his back, and Dale noted that his large pointed ears were flat with irritation. His arms and legs were short with three digits on both his hands and feet. Even though he couldn't see clearly in the shadows that persisted in the cave despite the afternoon light, Dale was fairly certain that the Gengar also had a stubby tail.

The Gengar interrupted his observation by growling out, "Well? Don't you have anything to say for yourselves? What were you doing out there? Taking a nice little float on a swollen river for the fun of it?"

Dale bowed politely as much as his sore muscles would allow, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. This Squirtle and I were on the ferry to Airmd Town when some flotsam crashed into it and I got knocked off. She dived in to save me but the current was too strong."

He nodded his head in the direction of the tense yellow Pokemon, "This Pokemon tried to help us by knocking a tree into the river for us to grab onto and walk back to shore on. Unfortunately, the tree roots broke and we were left stranded on the tree without any means to get to shore."

The Gengar stared oddly at the stranger for a long time. The yellow Pokemon straightened and growled at him, "What are you looking at chubby?"

Cora looked just as shocked as Dale was, such disrespect to someone who had just saved one's life was almost unheard of. The Gengar didn't seem to notice, "You're a member of the Raichu clan aren't you? A Pikachu correct?"

The Pikachu looked surprised, "Yes, I am. My name is Mira. How did you know? Everyone else on this island seems to have no clue about my clan."

The Gengar shrugged slightly, "Not surprising, there hasn't been a Pikachu on this island for many years. I am Hermit Delano Gengar and this," he motioned to the Greninja, "is my sole companion, Tynan Greninja. So, you tried to help the Eevee and the Squirtle and ended up caught in their predicament?"

Mira nodded curtly, not seeming to see the need to speak. Dale inspected the Pikachu, she was different from any kind of Pokemon he had even seen before. Now that he was no longer clinging for his life on a waterlogged tree, he had to revise his guess about her type and assume she was among the Electric-type clans. _Those red cheek pouches are a fairly obvious give away, I wonder were she got that scar. Fighting maybe? It's a wonder she can still see out of that eye..._

Delano recaptured Dale's attention, "Well? Are you going to introduce yourselves or what? At least the Pikachu knew to give her first name."

Dale dipped his head in apology, "Sorry, I am Dale Eevee of the Eeveelution clan and this is my friend Cora Squirtle of clan Blastoise." A bit of wind blew across his sopping fur and Dale couldn't suppress the shudder that shook his body.

Delano's red eyes softened at their pitiful condition and he motioned them to come further inside the cave, "Come on, you three are soaked and probably injured. Another storm is coming up so you'll just have to stay with Tynan and me."

Dale nodded his head gratefully and limped after the Gengar. Cora followed him and after a moment's hesitation, so did Mira Pikachu. Cora lightly touched his shoulder, "Hey, are you okay? I thought you were a goner for a second back there."

Dale shook his head, "No, I'll be fine once I dry off ... thank you for jumping in after me like that. I really would have been a goner if it hadn't been for you and Pikachu."

From behind him, the Pikachu spoke up, "Call me Mira. Sorry I couldn't help more." Dale looked over his shoulder as they proceeded deeper into the cave, following the scent of the Gengar and his Greninja companion.

He smiled tentatively, "You tried and that's what mattered. By the way, call me Dale." Mira nodded and slowly caught up with them.

Cora looked around briefly, even though none of them could see more then a few feet in front of them now, "I wonder how Delano knew that a storm was coming up. I didn't even see any clouds."

Mira snorted, "Don't be fooled, storms blow up at a seconds notice around here. If Delano lives around here, then he'd know how to tell if one was about to hit."

Dale inwardly wondered how Mira knew about the frequency of storms on the coast. _Does she live on the coast? That would certainly explain why no one has seen a Pikachu before. But Delano said that there hasn't been a Pikachu on the island for many years. If that's true, then how did she get here?_

The three Pokemon followed Hermit Delano and his silent ninja friend through the dark tunnel for what seemed like ages. Finally, Dale sensed the tunnel widen into a large cave and there was the sound of someone snapping their fingers. Light flooded the cave, making the newcomers blink and try to adjust their eyes to the sudden illumination.

When Dale's eyes had recovered, he saw that the cave they were standing in was well furnished and clean. To his left, a long table stood, it's glazed surface glinting softly. To his right was a pair nests next to a small pool of clear water. Straight ahead, Dale saw a door that he guessed lead to the kitchen and probably an alternate exit for Tynan. On the whole, the cave was spartan but scrupulously clean, just about what he would expect from a hermit or a ninja.

_Or in this case, both. _Dale looked up and saw that the source of the light was a bright orange flame hanging from a metal dish of some kind. The dish was suspended from the ceiling by three cords made of a material Dale couldn't identify. Delano motioned his guests to follow him through the other door.

Dale was correct in his assumption that the doorway led to the kitchen. He watched in curiosity as Delano reached inside the mouth of the oven and snapped his stubby fingers. Instantly, a fire leapt into being inside the oven. The three soaked Pokemon huddled around the fire. Cora spoke up timidly, "I didn't know that Gengars could learn Fire-type moves."

Delano chuckled, the deep graveling sound made Dale inwardly squirm. _A scary laugh, no Ghost-type would be complete without it._ The Gengar answered Cora's statement, "I had a good teacher when I was a Ghastly. Now, wait here and warm up while I scrounge up some poffins ... and take off those satchels, they're ruined anyway."

Dale craned his neck to look at the satchel strapped to his back, _yep, it's ruined all right. It wasn't meant for river surfing._ Cora kindly helped him out of his satchel straps, she had left hers behind when she dived in to save him. Dale watched Mira out of the corner of his eye, she looked exhausted and was having trouble with her satchel straps.

Dale caught Cora's eye and subtly signaled her to help Mira. Cora nodded, set down Dale's lump of grass that used to be a satchel, and ambled over to Mira, "Need some help?"

The Pikachu tensed, her green eyes suddenly wary. After a long moment, she nodded curtly and allowed Cora to help her out of the satchel strap. Dale watched curiously, _she's afraid of something. I wonder what it is? If she's an Electric-type, then she has almost nothing to fear from Cora. Maybe it has something to do with that scar._

Dale's thoughts were interrupted by a faint rumbling in the ground. Now it was his turn to tense, _an earthquake? Uh oh, we're underground, we'll be buried alive!_ Mira spoke up, her gaze hooded, "The storm has started. Sounds like a bad one."

Dale relaxed, _right, from down here, all we would hear of the thunder is the vibrations in the ground._ Dale sighed and adjusted his position by the fire. Its warmth was almost ridiculously comforting. He closed his eyes in contentment, at this point he could even forgo food if it meant staying by the heat.

He heard a faint noise of surprise and cracked open an eye, Mira was stared at his right hind leg. Dale sighed, _again with the leg._ Mira realized that he had noticed her gaze and quickly averted her eyes. Dale smiled softly, "It's all right to look, I don't mind. That happened a long time ago so I'm used to it by now."

Mira raised her gaze back to him slowly. This time their eyes met and Dale found himself oddly breathless. Her eyes were the color of jade and reminded him strongly of the deep green leaves of his forest home. She suddenly broke eye contact and looked slightly uncomfortable, "You have my apologies for your leg." Before Dale could reply, Mira curled up tightly and tucked her head underneath her lightning shaped tail.

Cora looked from one to the other, rolled her eyes, and curled up between them. Retracting fully into her shell with the murmur of, "Let me know if Delano finds any of those poffins." Dale sighed again, this time out of exhaustion. _That is if I'm still awake when he shows up. Swimming with three legs is normally easy, but that river was anything but._

Dale closed his eyes and was asleep within seconds. Had he stayed awake, he might have heard Delano reappear from the pantry with several poffins. He also might have seen Tynan motion to them silently with a webbed hand in question and heard Delano's whispered reply of, "Don't worry, they don't suspect a thing. Once this storm ends, they'll be on their way back to Airmd Town and that will be that."

Tynan made several symbols in the air with its hands, the Greninja's expression still worried. Delano sighed, "Yes, I suppose that is a concern. I will contact the council, they will know what to do." Delano stared thoughtfully at the sleeping Pikachu, his gaze far away, "I wonder if her appearance means something..."

It truly is a pity that Dale had not stayed awake a bit longer. He might have been very interested in what he could have heard.

* * *

Castor paced angrily around Airmd Town Square, ignoring the heat of the hot sun and looks he was receiving from town citizens. He wanted so desperately to be out there searching for his friends, but a Fire-type like himself would just be in the way of the rescue party that had headed down river to find Dale and Cora. _Even Sekani got to go! I feel so useless!_ "Excuse me, sir Charmander. Have you seen a female Pikachu around here by any chance?"

Castor snapped out of his internal rant and looked up. A Riolu was looking all around in a worried manner. Castor blinked, "I'm not sure, what does a Pikachu look like?"

The Riolu fidgeted nervously, "Well, she is about my size, yellow, with red cheek pouches and long black tipped ears. She has a lightning bolt shaped tail and a long scar across her face."

Castor frowned impatiently, "Sorry, but no. I-" _wait ... a yellow Pokemon with a lightning bolt shaped tail?_ Castor felt his blue eyes widen in realization, _that sounds like the Pokemon who tried to help Cora and Dale!_ "Actually, I think I did! I think that was the Pokemon who tried to help my friends when they fell out of the ferry!"

The Riolu ears pricked, "Really? Where is she?"

Castor sighed anxiously, "She knocked down a tree to try to help them ashore but the tree broke away from the bank and went downriver. I've been here ever since waiting for news from the rescue party."

The Riolu looked horrified, "**What**? But there's a waterfall about ten miles down the river right before it goes into the ocean! They might drown!"

Castor froze, _the rescue party sure didn't tell me that!_ He locked eyes with the Riolu, "We've got to do something! I can't just wait here knowing that!" Castor took off for the river again.

The Riolu caught up with him, "Wait! I have a companion to fetch!"

Castor glared at the Riolu, "Then go fetch him if you want, but I'm not stopping!" He heard the Riolu sigh and was surprised when his impromptu ally threw back his head and howled loudly. Castor nearly jumped out of skin, "What was that?"

The Riolu shrugged, "I have fetched him, let us go. I am called Leal by the way." Castor blinked again, _I heard that the lucario clan was weird sometimes..._

Castor and Leal ran out of Airmd Town to the river and began following it. What Castor planned to do when they reached the waterfall, he had no idea. He knew that there was probably nothing he could do that the search party couldn't, but his loyalty to Cora and his newer friend Dale refused to let him wait in Airmd Town.

As the two Pokemon ran along the river bank, their fast pace eating up the miles, Castor suddenly spotted the Skarmory who had ferried them over. _I thought he was part of the search and rescue party. What is he doing just standing there?_ As they crested the hill, Castor realized that the Skarmory wasn't alone, the entire party was standing there looking dejected.

Castor came within earshot and heard Sekani yelling, "What do you mean there's no point in going on! My friends are out there waiting for help! You can't just give up!"

Castor skidded to a stop, "Sekani, what's going on? Why aren't you all further downriver searching for Cora and Dale?"

Sekani whirled on Castor, his eyes brimming with tears, "We aren't going anywhere because these cowards say that there's no point in going on! They say that if the tree didn't catch on something by now then it must have gone over the waterfall and that there's no chance Cora and Dale could have survived!"

Castor felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, he stared desperately at the assembled searchers, "You can't honestly believe that! Cora is a Water-type! If anyone could keep Dale safe it's her!"

Leal also piped up, his voice tinged with righteous rage, "Cowards! How dare you simply give up! Until I see the dead body of my friend Mira, I will never stop searching!" He looked contemptuous, "And you dare to call yourselves Pokemon."

The would-be searchers hung their heads in shame but refused to continue the search. They slowly headed home, muttering apologies the whole way.

Sekani looked like he was about to cry, "Cora..." he whispered.

Castor grabbed his friend's shoulder and did his best to hide his own fear, "Don't listen to them. Cora and Dale will be fine, we just have to find them."

Leal looked impatient, "Then what are we waiting for? We need to get going! I would be forever dishonored if I did not do my utmost to find Mira!"

Sekani blinked tearily as if he had just noticed Leal, "Who? Who are you? Who is Mira?"

Castor turned and began trotting down the river again, "This is Leal, that Pokemon who tried to help Cora and Dale was Mira. She got washed away as well."

Just as the three began to run towards the waterfall, they heard a strangled cry come from behind, "Wait ... for ... me!" All three looked over their shoulders. A Wobbuffet was running towards them as fast as its stubby legs could go. They reluctantly stopped and let him catch up.

Leal looked impatient, "Ahanu, we do not have time to waste, we must find Mira!" The Wobbuffet, apparently named Ahanu, whined wordlessly, his squinted eyes begging for a rest. Leal sighed, "Rest here if you want, but we are going to continue to the waterfall."

Ahanu nodded breathlessly and the other three Pokemon continued on towards the waterfall. Castor kept his eyes focused in front of him and tried not to think about what he would do if Cora hadn't made it. _If they're ... if they're ... no don't think about that! Cora and Dale will be fine, we just have to find them!_

Leal tapped him on the shoulder, "Listen, can you hear that?" Castor tilted his head to one side, a distant thundering sound rumbled in his hearing. Looking up, he saw black clouds looming overhead. _Uh-oh ... a storm? It was clear just a minute ago!_

Sekani looked nervous, "Castor! We're almost to the coast! Really bad storms blow in all the time ... we might want to head back!"

Castor glared at the clouds and picked up his pace, "No! We need to find Cora and Dale! I'm not letting a little storm stop me!"

Leal's voice called from behind, "But what about your tail flame? It will be in danger!"

Castor shouted back, "If I worried only about myself all the time then I wouldn't have friends and I wouldn't be out here! I'm going!"

With a frantic burst of speed, Castor pulled even farther ahead of Sekani and Leal, his eyes focused on the waterfall that was drawing ever closer. Around him, the air began to grow thick and heavy in anticipation of the storm. Castor ground to a stop and looked down the cliff to where the waterfall joined the roiling ocean.

For a moment, his reason for being out there vanished from his mind and he stared numbly at the ocean. Castor had only ever faintly seen the ocean from a distance, now it rolled and crashed just below his feet like a frothing monster. _It's so ... big. How can that much water exist?_ His eyes lifted to the horizon, instinctively searching for something. He scanned the distant waves expectantly, though what he was searching for he didn't know. Nothing but the ever more violent waves greeted his vision.

Sekani and Leal caught up and froze in awe as well. The three Pokemon stood there for a long enough time that even Ahanu managed to waddle up and stand beside them. Eventually, nature seemed fed up with their silent staring and clapped its invisible hands together, making a rumble loud enough to make all four jump in terror. Rain began to pour down from the clouds, causing steam to rise from Castor's tail flame.

Castor gasped in horror, _We've just been standing here when we should have been searching!_ Trying to ignore the pain creeping through his tail and up his body, Castor turned and began calling at the top of his lungs, "Cora! Dale! Mira! Can you hear me? Answer us!" The others joined in as well, shouting for all their worth in hope that their missing companions would hear.

After half an hour of calling and searching in the pouring rain and rolling thunder, Castor was feeling numb and woozy. He panted out another pleading call for Cora, but it sounded more like a high pitched whimper than a word. The world suddenly tilted under his feet and Castor dimly felt his body crash to the ground. _So cold..._ He weakly curled up and stared blankly at his tail flame. It was tiny, much tinier then it should have been and instead of its normal orange-yellow, it was a sickly deep red.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Castor knew that he had been out in the rain far too long and that he was now suffering the consequences. Feebly, he tried to lift his head and call for help, but any sound he might have made was snatched away even from him by the storm stirred winds. The sky was totally dark, rain surged downward unmercifully as lightning split the sky like a Grass-type's Vine Whip Attack.

Castor's eyes began to close against his will, _No! I must stay awake!_ Through his half-lidded eyes, Castor could make out the fuzzy shapes of what looked like legs and webbed feet. He felt strong slender arms pick up his limp body. He didn't protest, he didn't have the strength to.

Through the strange cotton feeling in his ears, he thought he heard shouting. _Sekani? Leal? So tired..._ Castor's eyes closed completely and he began to drift away into a warm darkness, ignoring the desperate shouts that floated to him to stay awake at all costs.

* * *

Sekani pushed his way through the wet scrub yelling for his friends that he was becoming more certain were gone with each passing minute. They had moved farther and farther away from the waterfall during their search and he and Leal were now pushing their way through the bushes lining the cliff.

_Wait ... were's Castor?_ He looked around in time to see a strange Pokemon holding Castor's limp form. "Hey! What are you doing with Castor?" He ran towards the strange Pokemon, "Leave him alone!" The Pokemon looked up at him, its eery red eyes expressionless. As Sekani ran closer, he realized that the stranger was a Greninja and that Castor's tail flame was almost gone. "What did you do to him?"

Leal appeared beside the Greninja, "Wait Sekani! This Greninja is trying to help! We need to get Castor out of the rain and to someplace warm, **now**."

Sekani stared at Castor, his heart fluttering in panic, _No! I can't lose all of my friends in one day! Please no!_ He and Leal followed the Greninja as it led them somewhere at a blindly fast pace, "Castor! Wake up! Stay with us, buddy!" Leal and Ahanu joined him in calling to the weakened Charmander, trying to keep him awake.

Sekani quickly realized that it was a losing battle, if they didn't get Castor to shelter and a healer within the next few minutes, he would probably die. The Greninja stopped and tapped a rock with its flexible tongue. Instantly, the rock swung open, revealing a long tunnel. The Greninja immediately entered and hurried into the dark passageway. As soon as the three Pokemon had entered the tunnel, the rock swung shut, leaving them in total darkness.

Sekani groped his way down the passage, his heart racing, _Where is this Greninja taking us?_ Eventually, warmth and the sound of a crackling fire filtered to his senses. Leal made a frustrated noise about something, but Sekani was too busy hurrying towards the orange light he had just spotted to notice.

The three Pokemon burst into the cave on the other end of the tunnel in time to see the Greninja gingerly laying Castor's limp form in front of an open stone oven and arrange his tail so that the tip was lying inside. Sekani spotted the worried form of a certain Squirtle and his heart leaped for joy, "Cora! Dale! You're alive!"

Leal and Ahanu barreled past the Aipom to happily crowd around a yellow Pokemon he didn't recognize, "Mira! You are all right!"

Mira lightly shoved them away and hurried over to were Sekani and his friends had gathered around Castor. She studied the Charmander for several silent moments before speaking, "What was a Charmander doing in the rain? Trying to get himself killed?"

Cora looked outraged, "How can you be so heartless? He was looking for me and Dale!" Cora's brow furrowed and she became subdued, "Castor never did know when to quit."

Sekani gently grabbed Castor's limp paw, "Come on buddy, you're going to be okay."

A deep voice spoke from behind Sekani, "Your friend needs rest and medicine, stand back and let me work." Sekani jumped in surprise and hastily made way for the Gengar. The Gengar bent over Castor and gently coaxed his mouth open, pouring a strange liquid down Castor's throat.

The response was almost instantaneous, Castor's tail flame immediately began growing in size and heat and his eyes fluttered sleepily. Sekani jumped happily in the air, "He's alive!"

The Gengar shot him a harsh look and shushed him, "Be quiet!" he shout whispered, "Your friend needs rest, not you jigging and screaming!"

Sekani quieted hastily and pouted in a corner, _Yikes, what a grouch! Can't a guy be happy that his friend is alive? That all of his friends are alive? Speaking of which..._ He turned to Cora and tapped her shell, "Cora, how are you and Dale alive? The search party gave up and said you'd never survive the falls."

Dale answered, "Luckily, we didn't get the chance to prove that theory. Hermit Delano Gengar used Confusion to lift us to safety."

Sekani used his tail hand to scratch his ear, "Really? That grouch?"

Cora sighed, "He isn't a grouch, Sekani. Any healer would have chastised you like that for yelling near their patient." The Squirtle yawned, "Maybe we should follow Castor's example and go to sleep, I'm still wiped out from swimming in the river."

Sekani protested, "Wait, without introductions or explanations? Who's the yellow mouse Pokemon? Who's the Greninja? Why would anyone want to live on the ocean coast? It's crazy dangerous up there!"

The 'yellow mouse' growled at Sekani, "My name is Mira Pikachu of clan Raichu and your questions can wait until tomorrow. I'm going back to sleep."

Even though she threatened to go back to sleep, Sekani's begging coaxed everyone to stay up a little bit longer, introduce themselves, and explain what they had all been doing in Airmd Town. Their conversation lasted until the Greninja silently entered the kitchen, set down a tray of poffins, and gave them a glare that clearly said, 'eat and then go to sleep'.

As Sekani curled up against Dale's furry brown body and used Cora's shell as a pillow, he wondered what the odds where that seven very different Pokemon would meet like this. _Maybe it's supposed to mean something..._


	8. Chapter 8

**Review response: Dear Shadow-Snivy, thank you for the lovely review! I've been doing my best to weave mysteries here and there in this story and I'm glad to know that I'm succeeding. I'm deeply flattered that you enjoy my descriptions so much, I worry sometimes that I haven't added enough of them, oh well. As for the cliffhanger, that wasn't intentional at first. When I was writing Chapter 6 and came to that part, I suddenly had a writer's block that simply wouldn't move. So, I ended up starting a new chapter from a different perspective.**

**Dear Alice-Chan123, hello! I apologize for not warning about the cliffhanger at the beginning of Chapter 6, I had forgotten it was there and when I remembered I thought that maybe I should surprise you guys with the first cliffhanger (if you don't count the prologue) and then give warnings with the cliffhangers that might follow. Delano and Tynan are a strange pair aren't they? Well, rest assured that I have a very good reason for portraying them the way I do, a reason that you will find out about much later. Sekani is still one of my favorite characters to write and I'm already plotting more trouble for him to get into. Dale does seem more than a little bit interested in Mira doesn't he? Enjoy the new chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight:**

**Giving Aid**

Castor heard voices, far away, but drawing steadily nearer. One of the voices was particularly loud, loud enough to make him wince in his sleep. "So anyway," the voice was saying, "Castor came up with the idea to go to the Dugtrio home den and ask them for help. Of course, now that we know just how dangerous the river is, that plan is probably a bust."

Castor groaned in irritation, "Can you talk any louder?" he mumbled groggily as light pushed its way through his eyelids and forced him to wake up fully. He opened his eyes and was promptly greeted with a close up of Sekani's grinning face. Castor recoiled with a yelp, "Hey! Personal space, Sekani!"

Sekani snickered and did a jig around the irate Charmander, "You're awake! You're alive! According to Hermit Delano, the sun is up and now we can go find someplace with a decent breakfast!"

Castor blinked, "What? Who?" _Why do I have to have such a spontaneous blockhead as a best friend?_

Sekani laughed, "Where is your tail and I know the difference!"

Cora slapped the Aipom with her paw, "That made **no** sense. Now settle down and be polite, Sekani."

Sekani whined and rubbed his slapped ear with a paw, pretending to be injured. Castor shook his head an stood up, "Thank you, Cora." _Wait ..._ his eyes widened and he grabbed Cora's shoulder shell plates, "Cora! You're alive!" Impulsively, he hugged her tight, his heart singing with joy at seeing Cora uninjured and safe.

A calm voice he had grown to know all too well spoke up from behind, "Yes, we are both safe. Hermit Delano used his powers to rescue us from the waterfall. I know you have met Leal and Ahanu, but I think you should now meet the reason they were also searching for us." Castor realized he had an audience and hurriedly let Cora go, his cheeks flushing a faint red.

Dale looked amused, Leal looked puzzled, and Ahanu was to busy fawning over a nearby yellow Pokemon to really notice. The yellow Pokemon, Mira he presumed, looked highly annoyed at the Wobbuffet's constant attention. Castor coughed slightly, hoping to somehow draw attention away from his hug. He walked over to Mira, ignoring the slight soreness in his limbs, and said, "Hi, I'm Castor. I presume that you are the Mira Pikachu that Leal spoke of?"

Mira gave him a once over with her eyes and nodded, "Yes, I am. You are Castor, your friends speak very highly of you. Though they do say that you have a tendency to risk your life needlessly."

Castor shrugged, "I just do what I think is right at the time. So, where are we?" Castor listened as Dale explained to him everything that had happened to him, Cora, and Mira and how Castor had lead Leal, Ahanu, and Sekani on a wild search through the rain until he had nearly died from exposing his tail flame to too much water.

Leal interrupted, "Is it true that your village was hit by an earthquake of previously untold magnitude and that you now wish to find the Dugtrio clan and enlist their help to rebuild? Is there any way we can help?"

Castor nodded, "Yes, it's true," he lowered his head and sighed, "but after seeing how wild the river is, I'm not sure if there's any way to get them across safely if they did agree. As for helping, unless you can figure out a way to get the Dugtrio across without using the less-than-safe ferry and providing them dirt to tunnel through on the way over the river ... I don't think so."

Cora crossed her paws in front of her plastron, "So what do we do? Go home? After all the traveling it took to get here?"

"You build a bridge." All eyes swung to Mira. Castor felt his eyes wandering to her long scar again, but he tried to focus on what she had said.

Sekani cocked his head to one side, "A what?"

Mira scowled at them all, "You honestly have never heard of a bridge?" At their blank expressions, Mira sighed, "A bridge is a construction, usually made out of stone or wood, that spans across the river, thus giving safe passage to travelers on either side."

Castor brightened, "Do you know how to build one?"

Mira's expression grew thoughtful, "Well, the simplest one I can think of would be..." she suddenly turned to Dale, "Does the West River go through your forest?" Dale nodded, "Do you think it would be possible to float some logs down from the forest that would be tall enough to span across the river?"

This time Dale shook his head, "That won't work, there used to be something just like what you describe between the two sides of the forest. However, as soon as the river flooded, that bank underneath it broke and logs floated away. Besides, it would take longer to build one and find the Dugtrio than it would to rebuild the village without their help."

Mira made a soft 'oh' noise and fell silent. An air of gloom hung over the seven Pokemon as they stood in Hermit Delano's kitchen. Castor felt miserable, _I drag my friends on a wild adventure, nearly get two of them and myself killed, and it all boils down to a big fat impossible. Why? Why is it that just when an idea seems great, reality has to come and squash it?_

A deep voice spoke from the doorway, "Good grief, just when the storm up there is past, you seven have to make one in my kitchen. What's the matter now?" Castor looked up in surprise at the purple colored Gengar. _That must be Delano._

Sekani answered for everyone, "We were trying to figure out how to get some Dugtrio safely across the river so that they could help rebuild Nagai Kusa Village, but it seems to be impossible."

Delano snorted, "Nothing is impossible for a determined Pokemon. You just aren't looking at your problem correctly."

Castor couldn't stop himself from snapping at Delano, "Then what would you suggest? The ferry is too wet and dangerous, a bridge would simply wash away or take too long to build!"

A polite tap on the wall drew everyones attention to Tynan Greninja. Castor realized with surprise that the ninja had probably been listening in the entire time. Tynan made a soft waving motion with one webbed hand and then drew a semicircle underneath it with the other. Sekani piped up, "What's with the charades? If you have something to say, spit it out!"

Castor ignored the cuff noise that indicated Cora had slapped Sekani again and her hissed lecture about being more polite, he was too busy trying to figure out what Tynan was saying. Delano seemed equally puzzled, "What did you say, Tynan?"

Tynan eye-rolled at them and summoned water into view. _Right, Greninja's have the ability to control and solidify water!_ Castor watched as Tynan made a miniature version of the West River and then repeated the semicircle pattern underneath.

Suddenly, the meaning of Tynan's hand motions dawned on Castor. His face split into a huge grin and cried, "That's brillant, Tynan! It's a wonder no one has thought of it before! You're saying that we have the Dugtrio dig a passage **under** the river aren't you? An underground tunnel that will connect the Grasslands and Kasai Desert!" Tynan nodded approvingly and the water vanished from her hand.

Sekani slapped his forehead with a paw, "Well, duh! Wouldn't that just make things easier!"

Dale looked thoughtful, "That might work ... at the very least it would be worth a try. If it does work, then we not only retrieve help for Nagai Kusa but we also make travel between the two regions much safer and easier. Otachi Town is only a few days travel away from the river, if we could convince the Dugtrio to try Tynan's plan then that would be the logical place for the Grassland exit."

Castor was positively beaming, "That's a great idea, Dale!" After putting up with the excited chattering from the young Pokemon for another ten minutes, Delano insisted that they be on their way. He gave them each a poffin to snack on until they reached Airmd Town and bustled them all out of the hidden door to his home.

Castor felt practically overwhelmed with renewed determination, he was going to get help for his village and nothing was going to stop him! He looked over at Leal, even though he had only met the Riolu the day before, he decided that he like the Emanation Pokemon.

Castor lightly touched Leal's shoulder to gain his attention, "Hey, you said that you were on a Discovering, right? It's okay if you say no, but, do you want to come with us? After we get the Dugtrio clan's help we could show you around Nagai Kusa."

Leal seemed to consider Castor's offer for a moment, but then his shoulders slumped a little bit, "I would love to, but I can't. You see, I ... I accidentally insulted Mira's honor and so it is my duty to follow her until I have redeemed myself."

Mira, who was walking just ahead of them, snorted, "You don't consider trying to save my life, **twice** in one day to be redeeming? If you want to go with them, it's okay."

Leal shook his head, "There is a great difference between trying and doing, Madam Mira. I am flattered that you consider me redeemed, but I have not yet accomplished that goal by the standards of my clan. I must continue to follow you."

Mira sighed and Castor got the distinct impression that she found Leal's statement very annoying. _Huh, I guess she's the solitary type. Pity, I really would have liked to have both of them along._ Castor listened idly to the sound of the other Pokemon talking. Cora was chatting at Dale, Ahanu was laughing and joking with Sekani while bragging about how he would be the first Wobbuffet to join the Silver Wing Sentinels.

_We all seem to get along together._ Castor smiled softly,_ It will be kind of sad when we go our separate ways._ Castor shoved that thought out of his mind and kept himself busy by talking to Cora since Dale seemed to be too preoccupied to talk much.

The walk to Airmd Town was pleasant, the late morning sun had yet to turn on its full heat and the rain from the previous night had washed the air clean. The river, still swollen and churning, was so loud that the group had to walk a good distance from it in order to hear each other without shouting like maniacs. Even so, Castor thought that its rolling, ever changing pattern of turquoise and frothing white was beautiful in a terrifying sort of way.

Because of their easy pace, they reached Airmd Town at noon and agreed to stop and eat in one of its restaurants. Needless to say, the town Pokemon were shocked and overjoyed to see them safe and well. Leal seemed to take it upon himself to glare at those who had given up on Mira, which amused Sekani to no end.

As Castor munched happily on roast Pinon nuts and various flavored poffins, he noticed that Mira had stopped eating and was absently rubbing her scar with a paw. Castor couldn't resist the question pressing on his mind, "How did you get it?"

Mira looked up, startled, "What?"

Castor nodded timidly to her scar, "That. How did you get it? If it's okay to talk about, that is."

Mira stared at the table uncomfortably, "I'm ... not sure. A lightning bolt I think, I don't really remember."

Sekani jumped into the conversation, chattering so fast that he was repeating some words, "Whoa! You have amnesia? That's so cool! So, so, what do you remember? Vague images of your family's faces? Your long lost love calling your name in anguish as you plummet to your death? How did you survive? Did you die? How did you remember your name or is Mira one that a kindly old Pokemon gave you since you lost your original one? Who-"

This time it was Dale who slapped Sekani's ear, hard. Sekani yelped and clutched his smacked ear sulkily. Dale scolded him sternly, "Didn't your parents ever teach you not to pry into other Pokemon's private lives? Honestly, how can anyone talk so fast and not make even a berries' worth of sense?"

Mira looked slightly relieved at Dale's intervention. Cora took it upon herself to apologize for the nosy Aipom, "I'm sorry about Sekani, when we were kids he hardly ever spoke two words in one day. Then **Castor** had to teach him how to talk. We've been trying to figure out an effective way to shut him up ever since."

Castor held up a paw, "Wait, my fault? You were the one who taught him nursery rhymes so he could get over that stammer problem of his! Even after he started talking, **on his own** thank you, he still knew better than to talk all the time. You're the one to blame for his word mixing abilities!"

* * *

As Mira watched Cora and Castor playfully fight over who's fault Sekani's talking skills were, she felt a pang in her chest. There was something about these Pokemon that reminded her of her past very strongly. Oddly though, Mira was reluctantly finding herself enjoying their company anyway. To her right, Dale caught her eye and whispered, "Are you okay?"

Mira glanced at the Eevee and tried to mask her surprise, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Dale shrugged, "You seem sad is all. I hope Sekani didn't hurt your feelings, he doesn't mean too."

Mira rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Really, and here I was assuming that he was actually thinking about what came out of his mouth."

Dale flopped one ear and gave her a playful, 'whatever gave you that idea?' look. By this time, Leal had been slurped into the argument, firmly believing that it was a real fight and not a mock battle of words. Sekani was standing at his full, unimpressive, height and attempting to yell over the fight about how insulted he was.

Mira shook her head and leaned over to Dale so she could make herself heard, "Should we break it up?"

Dale swept his eyes around the rest of the restaurant, noting the looks they were beginning to get, and replied, "We probably should. The patrons are beginning to look menacing."

Mira smirked and winked at Dale, "Okay then." Before he could ask what she was doing, she sparked her cheek pouches and unceremoniously hit the battlers with a mild Thunderbolt Attack. Once her Thunderbolt had finished, dead silence fell over the building. Sekani coughed, smoke puffing into the air comically, "What, the, Ho-oh, was that for?" he whispered almost fearfully.

Mira casually settled back down and munched calmly on a Pinon nut, "I just wanted to say that you should stop the fight. You might attract attention with all of your yelling."

Castor looked at her disbelievingly, "And frying us with a Thunderbolt wouldn't?"

Mira shrugged, "Hey, my mom always said; if you can't yell over 'em, fry 'em. Besides," she grinned wickedly, "Sekani's fur looks good in the electrified style." She turned her eyes to the table, fully aware that Leal and Ahanu were staring at her as if she'd grown another head. In all the time they'd been with her, she had never smiled openly or cracked a joke.

Cora was feeling herself all over, checking for injuries. Being a Water-type, she was especially cautious around electric attacks. Finding herself unharmed she looked up, saw Sekani, and burst out laughing. Every strand of the poor Aipom's fur was standing on end like tiny poles and looked cartoonishly brown.

Everyone else at the table looked at their companions and began laughing as well. Dale shot Mira a surprised look that said, 'did you know this would happen?' she simply smiled tightly at him, trying not to laugh herself. As Mira looked around at the laughing group all around her, she realized something. _I haven't had this much fun in over a year ... not since Jack ... left._

The image the name conjured nearly ruined her mood, but instead of dwelling on it, she pushed it away and focused on the happy sound of Pokemon talking and joking around her. She laughed softly, _maybe Castor could use an extra paw on his trip._

All too soon, the lunch ended and the seven of them filtered out of the restaurant. Castor looked suddenly depressed, "I guess this means goodbye..." he muttered sullenly. Mira nodded. With sad looks all around, Cora, Dale, Sekani and Castor bid goodbye to Mira and her party.

Mira watched them trek off towards the nearest general store to acquire more satchels and supplies. A pang stabbed her heart again as she faced the thought of walking away.

Ahanu and Leal looked utterly miserable, they had obviously gotten very attached to the other Pokemon in their short period together. She studied their faces out of the corner of her eye, _I was incorrect earlier, they really _**_can _**_look more pathetic than before. I suppose since they insist on being under my command I should put out an effort to make them feel better._

Mira studied the town around them briefly, it was late afternoon and the streets were busy despite the heat. _The types who live here are used to the heat. So they don't have to hide indoors._ She led them in silence to a different general store, musing over an interesting thought that had entered her mind while acquiring new satchels and supplies.

When they stepped out once more into the hot sun, Mira had come to a decision. She turned to Leal, "Which way is the Dugtrio home den anyway?"

Leal looked up at the sun to gain his bearings and then pointed, "Well, since we are in Airmd Town, the collection of caves the Dugtrio live in would be that way."

Mira nodded thoughtfully, "If someone was traveling to say, Meiro Woods, then they would probably pass right by those caves correct?"

Leal was starting to smile hopefully, "Well, yes, I suppose so."

She rubbed a paw over her scar, "Hmm, I'm also very sure that I saw a Fearow gang when we first arrived. They always try to get travelers when they leave sight of Airmd Town, correct?"

Leal nodded eagerly, "Oh, yes. In fact, the mayor himself advised Pokemon on a Discovering to travel in as big a group as possible to help avoid confrontation with the gang."

Ahanu, who had been looking from one to the other in confusion, finally got what the whole conversation was hinting at, "Are you suggesting we travel with Castor's group for safety till we reach the Dugtrio caves?"

Mira rolled her eyes at his slow pickup, "Yes, Ahanu that is what I am suggesting. Unless of course you no longer want to be in Sekani's company..."

Ahanu hurriedly waved his arms, "No, no! I didn't mean that at all! But do you really mean it? We can travel with them?"

The Pikachu smirked to herself and took off running, "If we catch up!" Behind her, she clearly heard Ahanu whoop. For once, he didn't appear to mind running in the desert heat.

It took about two minutes of solid running to reach the edge of Airmd Town. In the distance, she could see the small dust cloud kicked up by Castor's group. Mira felt strangely happy at the sight, her body flooded with a sudden energy and she pulled ahead of Leal. As she rapidly approached, she spotted the brown fur of Dale. The Eevee was the first to hear her coming and turn around.

He stopped and with a cry, alerted his friends to her rapid advance. She skidded to a stop in front of them, kicking dust up at Sekani. Castor looked puzzled, "Mira, what are you doing here?"

She fought to keep a straight face and shrugged, "Well, I was originally planning to cross over to the Grasslands, but Mayor Skarmory told me that until the river returned to normal, all ferries were closed. Since Leal said that the only other way into the Grasslands is by crossing Ao Lake in Meiro Woods, we thought that maybe..."

Leal had caught up and hurriedly finished Mira's sentence, "We thought that we could all travel together until you reach the Dugtrio home den! That is, if you do not mind."

Castor's face burst into a huge smile, "Of course you can come! That would be great!" From his position several yards behind, Ahanu gave a breathless cheer. Mira glanced over her shoulder at the Wobbuffet, _Really, he's out of breath already?_ Sekani whooped happily at the prospect of getting to 'hang out' with Ahanu again and hurried past her to dance around the panting blue Pokemon.

Mira watched the jig for a moment before calling sternly, "Hey, we should get going. Unless you are too busy performing Rain Dance?"

Sekani didn't seem to register her sarcasm, he just grinned even wider, "Well I don't know, this desert might need some more rain!"

Castor shook his head adamantly, "No, no more rain. We had enough of it last night, Sekani. Besides, you don't know Rain Dance." Sekani winked at Castor and happily marched beside Ahanu as the seven Pokemon set off down the road again.

As the road stretched on and Airmd Town became smaller and smaller behind them, Mira did her best to ignore the heat of the sun. To her inward surprise, while Leal conversed with Castor and Cora, Dale chose to walk silently next to her instead of joining the others in conversation. She studied him thoughtfully out of the corner of her vision.

He was fairly muscular for an Eevee, she could see the soft ripples under his fur every time he took a step that indicated a lot of hidden strength. His ears were slightly drooped in a relaxed but attentive position and he moved very well for a three-legged Pokemon. Her eyes drifted to his face, his huge brown eyes were flicking almost casually in different directions, observing everything around him with mild interest.

His mouth hung slightly open and he was panting softly from the heat. She couldn't help but notice that his fur, while still brownish, was much lighter than other Eevee's she had met. _I wonder if he's a Shiny?_ Shiny was a term used for Pokemon with color differences from the norm of their clan, they were very rare and some legends said that it was a mark of an adventurous life or a special destiny. She had never personally believed the legends, but it was still interesting to meet a Shiny like say, Cora.

Dale swung his brown eyes to look at her, "Is there something troubling you?"

Mira shook her head and waved a paw absently, "No, no. I was simply wondering why you weren't joining in the others conversation instead of marching along beside me of all Pokemon. Leal and Ahanu can tell you that I'm not a very good option when it comes to friendly companionship."

Dale smile softly, "That's why I'm walking with you. You won't expect me to say anything for talking's sake. Anyway, Castor has two other Pokemon to chat with and Sekani is a little ... preoccupied."

Mira glanced over at Sekani, the Aipom was chatting animatedly with Ahanu. If the snatches of conversation she had unintentionally picked up were any hint, the two were planning to be Silver Wing Sentinels together ... or comedians, she couldn't tell which with all of the bragging laced through their chatter.

She turned her attention back to Dale, "Think your friend could convince Ahanu to stay with him forever and stop following me?"

Dale shrugged, "Not sure, I've only known him for a few weeks. Is Ahanu really that bad? He seemed rather pleasant to me."

Mira rolled her eyes, "You haven't been out on the trail with him long enough. He's a regular brass band when it comes to whining."

Dale frowned, "What is a brass band?" Mira inwardly scolded herself, _Right, human thing. Better not do that again._

She shrugged, "It's nothing, just a really noisy piece of equipment where I come from. Jack and I-" she stopped the sentence short, cursing herself for saying that name out loud, "never mind, forget it."

Dale studied her brooding expression for a moment and then drooped his ears slightly, obviously believing that 'Jack' had been someone dear to her who had died. He wasn't far wrong, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

Mira shook her head silently, the pesky lump in her throat preventing her from saying anything. Dale was surprisingly tactful, he didn't pry or offer hollow comfort phrases like most Pokemon would have. Instead, he turned his eyes forward and after a few minutes began to hum softly.

Mira stared at him, _What in the regions?_ Dale burst out singing in a soothing tenor;

_My father always told me,_

_ That life's a mystery,_

_ And if I looked hard enough,_

_ I'd find out what it means._

_ So travel, lad, I beg you,_

_ Open up your eyes,_

_ See the greatest wonders, _

_ That stand under the skies!_

The others had stopped talking and were listening to Dale sing. With a laugh, Sekani began clapping his paws together in time to the spunky beat.

_So I traveled far and wide,_

_ And many things I saw._

_ I saw the woods and mountains,_

_ And met their Pokemon._

_ But when I asked the meaning,_

_ Of what my father said,_

_ They'd shrug and say, 'I don't know'_

_ So I took off again!_

Mira shook her head in amazement at how delighted the others seemed to be at hearing the old traveling ditty of Pokemon. With each passing verse another one of her companions joined in, clapping their paws in time to the song and some of them even singing along. _Where am I? An island disconnected from the rest of the world or a kit school musical?_

Despite her sarcastic thoughts, Mira found her tail slowly bobbing along with the beat as Dale, Cora, and Leal sang about the traveling lad and his journey to the desert, the grasslands, and all of the rivers in search of a Pokemon who could tell him the mystery of life.

A smile broke out across her face without her permission when Sekani began dancing ridiculously to the jig. _And Ahanu thinks I have energy! Even I don't jig around at noon in the desert!_ As the song ended, Mira called a lunch break, leading her breathless and sweating companions to a nearby cluster of scrub.

They all sat down underneath the bushes, taking slight relief in the shade they provided. Castor arranged his tail so that it wouldn't set the bushes on fire and all of them opened their satchels. Mira carefully selected two Pecha Berry poffins from her bag and settled in to munch them. Sekani sniffed at her poffin and promptly made a gagging noise, "Yeck! How can you like that sweet stuff?"

Mira deadpanned at him, not deigning to give a verbal response to his rude comment. Ahanu however, remembering her battle with the Ryhorn, made a point of stuffing a Figy Berry poffin into his friend's mouth, "Here, try this one!" Sekani attempted to protest around the poffin but at Ahanu's pleading stare, sighed through his nose and chewed the poffin instead.

After a moment's chewing, Sekani's eyes bulged he spat it out and began squealing, "Spicy! Hot, hot, hot!" Mira chuckled as she watched Sekani gag and frantically beg for water. Cora promptly sprayed the screaming Aipom with WaterGun, thus quieting him.

After the initial taste bud revolt and subsequent soaking, Sekani settled down and actually enjoyed the Figy Berry poffins that Ahanu had packed. Mira rolled the taste of her Pecha Berry poffin on her tongue, savoring it's sweet cheerful flavor. _Not bad, the baker in Airmd Town knew what he was doing._ Everyone dug into their own packs, enjoying their poffins and comparing flavors. Sekani ended up dizzy from a sugar high after stealing one of Cora's berries which turned out to be extremely sweet.

While the others laughed at Sekani's sugar induced antics, Dale suddenly stiffened. He looked up, his ears pricking fully upright and his brown eyes searching the sky. Mira tensed and looked up as well, straining her ears to catch the sound that had alerted Dale. Dimly over the others' laughter, she heard flapping. A large shadow passed overhead, its long neck instantly marking its owner to be a Fearow._ Of course ... wait until the victim is out of sight and earshot of any reinforcements, let them march undisturbed until they are tired and their guard is down. Then strike._

She stood up and called sharply, "Look sharp! Fearow gang incoming!" Her companions froze for a second before the import of her words fully registered, then they all scrambled to their feet, heads tilted towards the sky in anticipation. Sure enough, with menacing cries and powerful wing beats and large Fearow landed just outside scrub patch, followed by fifteen confident-looking Spearow.

Mira moved her eyes from opponent to opponent, the gang had surrounded them and was leering smugly. _Well, they are either really confident in their skills, or really dumb. Probably both._ Her eyes rested on the Fearow. He was a large, mostly brown colored avian Pokémon with a vulture-style neck and broad, powerful wings. His long, pointed, pink beak was curved slightly into a smile and the decorative red coxcomb on top of his head gleamed in the sun. Noticing Mira's stare, he returned it. The pupils in his narrow eyes growing even smaller than normal.

The shaggy feathers on the base of his neck and upper portion of his wings were fluffed to make him seem even bigger and his pinkish, sharp-clawed talons looked recently polished. He tapped one of the three front talons on his right foot, making a clicking sound against a nearby rock, "Well, well. What do we have hear? Pokemon on a Discovering perhaps? Seeking to learn new things and meet other Pokemon types?"

Mira felt her lips twitch and flattened her ears, trying to block out the nasally voice of the gang leader. Castor seemed to take it upon himself to answer, "Yes, yes we are and we don't want any trouble with you."

The Fearow laughed, "Hear that boys? No trouble, he says!" The other birds laughed, their voices even more shrill than their leader's. Mira glared at the Spearow. The very small brown birds were known for being vicious. Their rough, brown head plumage and short, hooked beaks seemed to attest to the personality trait. With small red wings designed for short, very fast bursts of flight and black sun absorbing back feathers, Mira had never met a Spearow who didn't like a fight.

_Like Jack always said, they have a 'little bird' complex. They need to prove how tough they are at every opportunity._ Mira spoke up, "If there is something you want, Airmd Town is not to far off back were we came from, I suggest you go there."

The Fearow turned its piercing gaze back to her, "Oh, and who are you, little mouse, to tell me to fly all the way to Airmd Town? Haven't you ever heard of generosity? You seven should be jumping at the chance to help out me and my hungry flock here." His smile turned menacing, "Because you know, they say bad luck happens to Pokemon who don't share. Sometimes they disappear into the desert, never to be seen again. We wouldn't want that to happen now would we?"

Leal looked outraged, "I know what you are insinuating, bird! How dare you try to intimidate us and threaten our party! Have you no honor at all? Begone with you, thieving cowards, before I teach you the true meaning of justice!" Ahanu whimpered and Castor looked ready to slap the outspoken Riolu. Mira saw the furious looks on the gangs' faces and knew that this wasn't going to end peacefully. _Great, I wanted to crisp these guys anyway._

The Fearow snarled at them, "Fine, then we will take what we want the hard way!" With a jerk of his head, he signaled his gang and they rose into the air as one menacing, shrieking mass.

Mira allowed her lip to twist into a snarl and crouched low to the dirt, readying herself for the fight. Next to her, Castor growled in a low tone to Leal, "Nice work, Mister Escavalier! Now we have to fight them!"

Leal was bouncing lightly on his toes, his paws in an opening martial arts stance, as he retorted, "We would have fought them anyway! They are bullies and would not have listened to any logical or reason you told them!" Mira silently agreed with Leal as she locked eyes with the gang leader.

She smiled tightly at him, "So, what dance do you prefer tiny? Tango or Waltz?"

The Fearow, not having any clue what a Tango or a Waltz was, decided to focus on the 'tiny' insult and screamed, "Get them! Tear them apart! But leave the mouse to me!" The Spearow all shrieked loudly and dived at the party of grounded Pokemon.

* * *

Castor felt fear spark inside his soul as the Spearow dived, there were so many of them! He leaped to one side just in time to dodge a Spearow's Peck attack, sucking air into his lungs and spewing Embers at it in midair. The Spearow laughed and took to the skies again, evading his attack. Something hard and sharp struck his back, hard. Pain lanced up his spine and he crashed onto the ground with a cry.

The hard object hammered his back and head in rapid successions, cutting into his scales and threatening to do serious damage to his spine. Desperately, Castor flailed his tail back and forth, the flame on its tip colliding with something feathery. His attacker screamed shrilly and the hammering stopped. Castor rolled to his feet, adrenaline washing away the pain in his back, replacing it with rage as he spotted the smoking Spearow.

Heat built inside him and he lunged, extending his claws to their fullest. He attacked the Spearow with a roar, his claws slashed through the air to rake across the rearing bird's tiny chest. The Spearow's shrieks grew louder as it flapped frantically, trying to retreat from the flashing claws of its former victim. Castor felt a feral impulse surge inside him, he wouldn't let the Spearow get away! He snarled and leaped into the air, tackling the bird to the ground so he could continue to claw it. Another Spearow tackled him, attempting to protect its comrade.

Castor twisted in the air, rolling with the blow to land mostly unharmed on his feet. Without taking the time to locate his new foe, he spun on his toes in a tight spin, using his tail flame to send out a burning salvo of embers in every direction. He stopped spinning and hunched his shoulders, eyes darting from side to side in search of his opponent. His Ember attack had damaged several Spearow and the one he had scratched lay unconscious on the ground.

An electric crackle filled the air and Spearow screamed in terrified pain. The smell of burnt feathers was becoming prevalent in the air. Castor spotted Dale, the Eevee was fighting bravely against four Spearow but it was evident that the three-legged Normal-type was losing. One of his ears was ripped and he was getting assaulted with Peck attack after Peck attack.

Castor charged, "Leave him alone!" Two of the Spearow turned at the sound of his voice and shrank back in terror at the horrific look of rage on his face. The heat in his chest was becoming unbearable, he felt like he was going to explode. One of the Spearow who hadn't noticed him yet raked its talons across Dale's back causing him to cry in pain.

Castor felt the anger and heat in his chest reach a crescendo as the cry reached his ears. He opened his jaws as wide as they would go and bellowed, "I said, leave him **alone**!" At the last word, the heat came boiling out in a steady stream of scorching hot fire.

The Spearow gave indescribable noises of pain and surprise as the flame slammed into them. They immediately gave up the attack in favor of rolling and flapping on the ground in anguished attempts to douse the fire on their feathers. Dale looked up, his eyes watering with pain but still gleaming with pride, "Castor! You just used Flamethrower!"

Castor paused in surprise, "I guess I did..." Sekani's panicked yell claimed both of their attention. Together, Dale and Castor bounded towards where the Aipom was scratching like a maniac at a higher level Spearow. Ahanu was standing at his back, using Counter to hold off another Spearow's Drill Peck attack. Dale lowered his head and charged Sekani's opponent from behind, slamming his shoulder into its back and driving it to the ground.

Castor barreled towards Ahanu, "Duck, Ahanu!" The Wobbuffet obediently ducked his head just in time for Castor's second flamethrower to pass harmlessly over him and collide with the drilling Spearow beyond.

Ahanu bobbed his head back up as the Spearow flapped away in panic, "Whoa! I thought Sekani said you didn't know Flamethrower!"

Castor came to a stop next to the Wobbuffet and the four Pokemon automatically slipped into a four pointed 'star' formation, each one facing a different direction in case the next attack came from there. Castor answered, his voice sounding strangely casual, "I didn't, I just learned it about ten seconds ago."

Dale called, "Incoming!" Some of the Spearows, having seen their comrades defeat at the paws of Mira and deciding she wasn't worth the risk to attack, were diving at them. Castor flamed at them, spewing a steady stream of fire into the air. Several broke away sharply, not wanting to get burned, but one Spearow appeared to be more experienced than the others and evaded the Flamethrower. It continued its dive towards them.

Dale suddenly lunged into the air and collided with the Spearow chest-to-shoulder. As the Spearow reared its head back in reaction to the impact, Dale reached up and clamped his sharp little teeth into the birds neck feathers. It squawked and flapped until the air hummed around its wings, but, unable to bear both its and Dale's weight, crashed to ground.

Sekani bounded over and slapped its face repeatedly with his paw until is passed out. Looking pleased with himself, Sekani pumped a fist in the air, "Yes! Aipom and Eevee one, Spearow zero!"

Another electric attack split the air. Spearow were beginning to retreat in fear of the powerful Thunderbolts. They had come expecting an easy robbery, not a bird roasting. Looking to his left Castor saw Cora spewing WaterGun and the airborne Spearow, soaking some of the less attentive ones.

Leal stood next to her glaring up at the birds, daring them to come close enough for his physical attacks despite the danger they represented because of his type. Castor hurried over to them, followed by Ahanu and Sekani. Sekani, spotting Dale limping in another direction, called, "Wait! Where are you going, Dale?"

Castor turned and saw Dale smile weakly, "To watch the **real** fight." Castor followed Dale's line of sight and blinked in surprise. Mira Pikachu stood in the shadow of the Fearow, the two Pokemon were trying to stare the other down.

Mira was smiling, not the tight or honest smiles that Castor had glimpsed before. This smile was cruel, bitter, terrifying somehow. As if the previous Thunderbolts had simply been her warm ups and now the Fearow was going to be victim of her full power.

Castor stood next to Dale, watching wide-eyed. Mira called up to the Fearow that was hovering just out of Thunderbolt range, "It's different isn't it? Going up against Pokemon who aren't afraid to hold back? I would have thought that you'd have trained your Spearow better."

The Fearow glared hatefully at her, "What would you know of training Electric-type? All you buzz heads ever think about is how 'wonderful' your attacks are against Flying-types! You cheat!"

Mira snorted, "So you attack seven peaceful Pokemon with **fifteen** Spearow while you watch on and I'm the one who cheats? You bullies are all the same, you refuse to take responsibility for your actions and blame others for your sloppy technique!" She pointed a claw at him, "Well guess what tough guy? Moves like Swagger and Mean Look don't work on **real** battlers! If you want to take our stuff your going to have to come down here and get your talons dirty!"

She cocked her head to one side almost coyly, "But you know what? I don't think you will, I think that you're going to turn tail and fly away because you know that against an actual trained Pokemon, you wouldn't last twenty seconds! You won't come down here because you're a **coward** just like Leal said!"

The Fearow threw his beak towards the sky and shrieked loud enough to make Castor cover his ear holes in pain. The huge bird beat its wings together, screaming at the top of his lungs, "How is **this** for sloppy technique?" His wings snapped open wide and a triangle of energy formed, drawing a glowing line between each wingtip and his upturned beak before solidifying into a triangular wall.

Castor felt his stomach flop, _Tri Attack!_ "Mira look out!" Everything moved into slow motion, he saw Mira's eyes widen in shock and her muscles tense in a desperate attempt to leap out of the way. He saw the Fearow clap his wings together and snap his long neck towards his wingtips simultaneously, launching the Tri Attack at Mira. He saw Mira leap to one side in hopes of dodging it, but the triangle destructive energy tracked her movements, following and gaining on the fleeing Pikachu.

Castor squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the inevitable collision that Mira was now bracing for. He did, however, feel something go rushing past him and heard a yell of distress from the others. He forced his eyes open and what he saw knocked the air from his lungs. Ahanu was standing between Mira and the Tri Attack, shaking under the strain as he used Counter.

The triangle of energy abruptly dissipated, Ahanu's Counter had not been strong enough to knock it back onto the Fearow, but it had been just strong enough to obliterate it. With the strain of holding back the powerful Tri Attack suddenly gone, the Wobbuffet fell backwards with a weak cry. Castor's heart went into his mouth, _Oh no! The attack didn't dissipate, Ahanu absorbed it!_ Sekani wailed and Leal had to hold the Aipom back, "Ahanu!"

Mira looked up from where she had braced for impact and stared at the unconscious and heavily damaged Ahanu. She gingerly brushed his blue cheek with her paw and seemed to be struggling not to cry out. Castor saw her lips tighten into a thin line and her jade colored eyes gleam dangerously.

She looked up at the smugly smirking Fearow and hissed out two words as if they were poison, "My turn." Her entire body began to glow and she was shaking violently. The Fearow's triumph turned to fear and with a strangled noise he turned to fly away as his Spearows had already done.

Dale shouted, "Everyone! Cover your eyes!" Castor squeezed his eyes shut again and slapped his paws over them just in time to protect them from the bright flash of energy. The Fearow, unable to shield his eyes, screamed and flapped crazily, going first one way then the other as he tried to regain his sight. Even though his eyes had been closed and covered, Castor was still seeing spots and having trouble focusing when he opened them.

But Mira wasn't done yet. She barreled towards the Fearow, electricity surrounding her tail tip in crackling, snapping blue waves that swirled tighter and tighter together with each bounding step she took. She shouted as she charged, drawing out the syllables, "Pika!" She lunged into the air, twisting horizontally to build momentum. She released the now large ball of electricity at the Fearow with a yell, "**Chu**!"

The blue orb shot through the air, leaving a snapping energy trail in its wake. The Fearow, hearing the noise, turned in the air, his eyes wide and defocused. The orb collided with his feathery chest and instantly exploded, coating his entire body in hissing, biting, electric power. He screamed hoarsely and froze in the air, his muscles visibly shaking and spasming. The energy faded and he crashed to ground limply.

Silence fell over the desert, the only sounds being the soft thump as Mira landed and the wheezing rasp of the Fearow. Castor stared in shock, unable to even form a cohesive thought about what he had just witnessed. Mira didn't even deign to look at the Fearow, she turned away from him and ran back to Ahanu.

* * *

Dale ran to Ahanu, trying to fight off the sick feeling in his stomach as he passed the wheezing Fearow. _It's amazing that bird is even alive after that attack..._ He gently nudged Ahanu with his nose. When that failed to spark a reaction, he turned to the silent Mira, "Help me get his mouth open, I have some medicine in my satchel."

Mira nodded and worked on prying the Wobbuffet's mouth open while Dale hurriedly rummaged through his satchel in search of a berry that would heal Ahanu. The other Pokemon snapped out of their daze, Cora looked over at the Fearow, "We should help him, we can't just let him die."

Mira barely glanced at Cora as she held Ahanu's mouth open for Dale to gently place an Oran Berry inside, "Let the Spearow take care of him."

Leal shook his head and reached into his satchel for a berry, "I agree with Cora, we cannot leave a helpless Pokemon to die. Even if he is a brigand and bully." Mira didn't appear to pay them any attention, she kept her eyes on Ahanu.

Dale dropped the Oran Berry into Ahanu's mouth, "Okay, let his mouth close." After the Wobbuffet's mouth closed, there was a long pause.

Ahanu opened his eyes slowly and moaned, "Where am I? Did I die?"

Sekani whooped and hugged him, "You're alive! You're alive! Oh, man you had me worried for a minute! You missed the best beat down ever! Mira took out that Fearow like it was a ... a newly hatched Pidgey or something! She was so ticked that you got hurt, I told you that she liked you!"

Dale smiled at Ahanu's blush, "Don't pay any attention to him, he's just babbling because he's happy you're okay." Another groan sounded close by and everyone whirled.

Leal and Cora were backing away from the Fearow as it stumbled to its feet. Dale sensed Mira tense and could practically taste the hatred rolling off of her. The Fearow wobbled a little bit before steadying himself. He looked down at Leal and Cora in complete confusion, "Why, why did you do that? Why didn't you just let me die?"

Leal bravely tilted his chin upward, "Because no matter what you choose to do with your life, you are still a Pokemon. Therefore, I cannot, in good conscience let you perish from your wounds when I have the means to help."

The Fearow studied him for a moment before suddenly flapping off, "Whatever! Just don't expect me to go easy on you next time we meet!" Dale watched the bird fly into the distance and shook his head silently. _Some Pokemon just never learn._

Dale gently helped Ahanu to stand, "Are you feel better? Do you need another Oran Berry?"

Ahanu smiled weakly, "If you don't mind, I'd rather get away from here before taking another berry. It reeks of burnt feathers." Dale nodded, suddenly noticing just how correct Ahanu was. The air was practically swimming in the stink of burnt feathers and several unconscious Spearow lay here and there on the ground.

Leal insisted on helping the Spearow before they left, giving each bird half of an Oran Berry to restore their energy. Most of the Spearow reacted very similar to their leader, huffing and flying off with threats of retribution. One Spearow however, stared angrily at the ground and didn't fly away immediately.

Dale cocked his head to one side, studying the female bird, "Your friends have all flown off." He pointed out calmly. She nodded curtly but still didn't move.

Castor eyed her suspiciously, "What are you waiting for?"

She looked up, "I am impressed by you, you stand by each other and you show mercy when others would give none ... if you ever need a wing, call me." Before any of them could say anything else, she flew off into the sky.

Cora looked surprised a she watched the tiny bird fly off, "Well, didn't see that one coming, I guess not all of those Spearow are as bone headed as they seem."

Castor coughed a few times, "Yeah, I guess. Let's get out of here and go somewhere where we can breathe again." The other Pokemon silently agreed, the air was to smoky and hot. As they continued on their chosen path, Dale looked over at Mira. He had never seen an Electric-type who used such powerful attacks. _She really does care about Ahanu, when he was hurt, she looked ... outraged. Murderous even, and even though Ahanu's all right, she's still brooding._

Dale had heard of Pokemon who tried to shun the world after a bad experience, such as losing a good friend or family member. He remembered how she had mentioned someone named Jack and then had stopped abruptly. _I wonder if Jack was a family member. She obviously cared deeply for him ... maybe he was arranged to be her mate before he died._

This thought distressed Dale, most Pokemon took mates for life and were so loyal that if one of them died, the remaining one would never remarry. They would instead enter a form of eternal mourning, often forgoing the company of others in favor of wandering the island for the rest of their lives, alone. _That would explain her aloofness ... maybe she got her scar in the fight that took Jack._

Inwardly, Dale felt extreme sympathy for Mira. He had met a wandering Pokemon who had lost his mate once. The Pokemon had been polite and helpful enough, but even at his young age, Dale had understood that there was something deeply sad about him. Like he had lost a very important part of himself and was still looking for it.

Mira sensed his prolonged glance and glared at him. But the glare had no real malice, her deep jade eyes looked vaguely empty. Dale wanted desperately to comfort her somehow, no Pokemon should live without friends after all. Before he could think of anything to say or do, Castor spoke up, "I think this is far enough, let's rest here for now."

Ahanu sighed and flopped happily on the dirt, glad for the chance to rest after the fight. Dale made a move to sit next to Mira, but Cora stepped in front of him, "Hey, Dale, are you all right? You ear is in nasty shape." Dale blinked, he had noticed a throbbing in his ear, but hadn't assumed it was anything more than a scratch.

He gently felt his right ear with a paw and winced, he could feel a large notch missing from it near the top, "Ouch, I guess I didn't notice it Cora. It will be fine, don't worry."

Cora shook her head, "Oh, no you don't mister. You sit down with me and let me treat that. You have enough missing limbs as it is!" Even though he protested, Cora insisted on sitting him down and cleaning the cut and rubbing a special, and unpleasant smelling, balm on it to keep it from getting infected.

By the time she had finished with him and moved on to Castor, who's back was fairly well pecked, Mira had moved a good distance from the rest of group. Dale hesitantly made his way towards her, ignoring the almost comical sound of Castor fleeing from the same infamous balm that was smeared on Dale's ear.

He was almost halfway there when Leal got in his way, "Leave her alone, friend Dale. I believe that it is, as they say, a private moment."

Dale looked at Leal, "But I'm worried about her."

Leal shook his head, "I know, so am I. But in the short period of time I have known her, I learned that her thoughts, and her past, are sacred secrets unless she chooses to make them known." He smiled faintly, "I believe that we would help her more if we simply left her alone. If she needs someone to talk too, there are six Pokemon other than her no more then ten yards away."

Dale looked past Leal to were Mira was perched on her hind legs on a small rock, watching the horizon intently. He sighed and his shoulders drooped, "I suppose you're right."

Leal nodded and his smile grew a touch wider, "Good, now let us go watch Cora administer 'the balm' to Sekani!"

Dale heard a high pitched wail behind him and couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, but if she turns on you next, don't look to me for help."

* * *

Mira sat on the rock, listening to playful chaos reigning behind her as Cora attempted to treat her friends with a famous, or infamous depending on who you asked, Water-type specialty balm. _The general store she got it from must have imported it..._ Mira watched the sun sink gradually lower in the sky. If her estimation were correct, it was almost four o'clock human time.

_This looks just like the day Jack and I fought those twin girls from the Orange Islands._ Mira swallowed hard. She hadn't meant to lose her temper at the Fearow, she knew that what she had done was nothing short of vindictive overkill. _Which nearly became an actual kill. If Leal and Cora hadn't had such strong consciences, I would have been perfectly fine with letting that bird die._

Her ears drooped even lower on her head, _I just ... after Ahanu took that attack for me..._ Her mind reverted back to that moment, she could still see it in vivid detail, and probably would for the rest of her life. She had realized that she couldn't dodge the Tri Attack and had braced herself, hoping that the pain and damage the attack would cause her wouldn't knock her out.

Then Ahanu had come out of no where and taken the blow instead. The others might have been simply concerned for his safety, but Mira had inwardly been devastated. _If he hadn't used Counter, there is good chance he would have died. Wobbuffets are tough creatures, but Ahanu ... his level of experience is much too low to be on a journey like this. Much too low to try and deflect an attack that powerful._

One of her paws clenched silently into a fist, _and if he had died, it would have been my fault. My fault for needing his rescue, my fault for not believing that the Fearow might have had a powerful attack like that one._ Her eyes narrowed as she glared into the distance, _I've got to work harder, that can't happen again._

A tiny voice spoke up in her head, _you could always leave,_ it whispered coaxingly,_ just like how you wanted to in Onidrill Village. They're too busy playing together right now, no one would notice if you vanished into the desert. Ahanu risked his life to save yours, that clears his life-debt, doesn't it? So run away._

Mira peeked over her shoulder, the others were indeed playing. Everyone was laughing and bragging about their part in the recent fight. _This was probably their first actual battle ..._ She suddenly realized that someone was staring back at her. Dale Eevee stood there, no more then ten yards away.

She spun to face him fully, cursing herself internally for not having sensed his approach. Mira summoned her best narrowed eyed glare, "Shouldn't you be bragging with the others?"

Dale crossed the rest of the distance between them and sat down, "You were thinking of leaving." His voice made it clear that he wasn't asking a question, he knew.

Mira turned back to watching the horizon, she didn't respond. Dale continued tentatively, "It's okay you know. Ahanu is fine, no one was seriously hurt. There is no reason to blame yourself."

She felt her lip twitch slightly, "Are you sure that you aren't an Espeon in disguise?"

Dale looked confused, "Espeon? Is that a Psychic-type? I don't think so. But, you are trying to change the subject. I could tell by those attacks you used, you're a very high level Pokemon. It's easy to deduce from there that your angry with yourself over what you see as a sloppy mistake that nearly cost someone else."

Mira hid her surprise, _he's very observant ... even if he doesn't know about Espeons. Yet another thing that is strange about this place._ She sighed softly and her shoulders slumped, "I shouldn't have provoked him and not expected an attack. I knew better."

She could see Dale watching her out of the corner of her eye. Dale said, "Everyone makes mistakes, no matter what their level is. It was Ahanu's choice to leap in front of you, it isn't like you called to him for help of anything."

Mira shook her head, "That doesn't change the fact that it was my actions that lead him to make that choice." She left the thought, _I'm too high a level to be so irresponsible,_ unsaid. Instead she stated, "What Ahanu did repays his life debt and Leal has more then proved his honor. There is nothing that would keep me here."

_Besides, they'll probably be safer without me attracting trouble for them. _A heavy silence fell over the two, Mira studied the landscape, her mind set on leaving.

Dale inched a touch closer to her, "Please," he whispered softly, "don't leave."

Mira looked over at him, mildly surprised at his plea, "Why would I stay?"

Dale searched the ground as if it had answers. Finally, he said, "You're worried about being too high of a level for the rest of us, right? Worried about attracting similar level Pokemon that we wouldn't be able to handle?" He looked up confidently, "So why don't you train us instead?"

Mira stared at him blankly, hardly believing what he just said, "What?"

He smiled, "You could train us! I'm sure Castor would love to learn that move you used to take down the tree." Dale hesitated and then said a touch more timidly, "Also ... if you don't mind. I'd like you to become my tutor."

Mira saw the sincerity in his eyes, he honestly wanted her around to teach him what she knew, "Teach you what? New attacks? You're a Normal-type, the most I'd be able to teach you would be something like Double Team."

Dale shook his head, "Not attacks, how to move without burning off extra energy. Your body, no offense, does not scream 'physically fit and ready to run a mile in desert heat' yet you can do that and gain enough speed to practically outrun a river."

He looked at her hopefully, "Maybe you could teach me how to do that. I've spent a lot of time training, trying to get as good as ... other Eevees. But with my leg," he sighed and turned his eyes to the ground again, "I just can't do it."

As Mira listened to Dale talk, she found herself unwillingly seeing something in him. Something of herself. Almost before she consciously registered it, she had gently placed a paw on his shoulder, "No, you can't. You would never be able to go toe to toe with another Eevee who has all four legs, you would never be able to run as hard or as long. But," she smiled tightly, "you can still knock 'em ... knock them out of the field. All it takes is strategy, dedication, and a lot of hard training."

Dale locked eyes with her, "So you'll train me?"

Mira cocked her head to one side and pricked an ear comically, "You do know that with those big brown eyes you could talk Gyarados into becoming a pacifist. How can I refuse?" She grew serious for a moment, "But if you really want my help, then be prepared for me to make you do things that you don't believe you can do. I'll train you like I was trained."

_Only without a couple of the more ... harsh things that my training had me do._ Dale positively beamed, "I promise! What do we do first?"

Mira smirked and climbed down from the rock, "First? We get something to eat, our lunch was interrupted if you recall, and I am hungry." Dale actually laughed as he followed her back to the other Pokemon.

He trotted next to her, "One last thing, are you going to train the others?"

Mira shrugged, "If they ask, maybe. Now let's get some poffins before Ahanu and Sekani eat them all." Dlae laughed again when he spotted what had prompted her statement. Sekani had goaded Ahanu into an eating contest and they were currently wolfing poffins as fast as they could while avoiding the angry paws Castor, Cora, and Leal.

Cora yelled at them "Come on you guys! We have limited supplies! You two can't have a 'who can ingest the most gross amount of food' contest! Give those satchels back!"

Sekani yelled back through a mouthful of food something almost intelligible that she assumed meant, "Nuh, uh! An' if you guys attack us, you'll just ruin the satchels and the food. So, back off! This stuff is all mine, mine, min-whoop!" Mira had blazed past him, grabbing the satchel from his tail-hand faster then he could react. She would have laughed at the look on his face if the satchel strap hadn't been clamped firmly in her mouth.

The surprised yelp from Ahanu told her that Dale had followed her lead and snatched the stolen bags from the Wobbuffet's rubbery arms. She bounded behind Castor and dropped the pack, turning gleefully to watch the fun as Leal wrought 'vengeance' on Sekani for 'being an evil influence on Ahanu's impressionable mind' while Castor and Cora simply laughed at the Aipom's overdramatic cries for help.

Mira rolled her eyes, "An overdramatic coward and an over eloquent knight. Those two deserve each other, I swear." Leal was currently chasing the agile Sekani, yelling in outrage that the little scoundrel should 'face his fate like a Pokemon'.

Ahanu leaned over to Dale, "Shouldn't we break it up?"

Dale shrugged, "I don't really think so. After all that food you two hogged, Sekani must have a lot of energy to burn off. Maybe you should join them." Mira chuckled along with the other three, fully enjoying Ahanu's uncomfortable response and the show Sekani and Leal were unintentionally putting on.

After allowing Leal to pursue Sekani for several more minutes and noting how low the sun was, Mira called a halt and suggested that they find somewhere to stay the night. Leal was still a little bit peeved at Sekani, but his honor dictated that he obey Mira's order to leave him alone.

Castor looked around, "There isn't any good cover for miles, were would you suggest we camp?" Mira swept her eyes all around, she loathed the thought of going to sleep without some kind of protection from the wind or prowling nocturnal Pokemon. However, just as Castor had observed, there wasn't any good natural cover for miles aside from the occasional scrub and rocks.

Mira glanced at them, "Anyone here know Earthquake?"

They all shook their heads and gave her weird looks. _Didn't think so._ Mira looked around again, "How about Dig?" They shook their heads again. She huffed softly, "Well, that makes things more difficult. I suppose we'll have to settle for the lea of rock or something."

Dale shrugged, "Maybe we should try walking a little farther, maybe we'll find something." They took Dale's suggestion and kept hiking, Mira and Dale snacking on a few poffins, until the sun had set and the stars had come out.

Sekani yawned, "Can we stop yet? I'm tired!" Ahanu mumbled in sleepily in agreement. Mira looked over her shoulder from were she had been lighting the way with her cheek pouches.

The others looked fairly exhausted in the light of her electricity and Castor's tail-flame. Mira nodded and veered her course, "Okay, let's stop in the bushes over there."

As Mira watched the others settle down, Dale looked over at her, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

She shook her head, "Not yet. Rule number one of traveling, always have someone on watch while the others sleep. I'll take the first turn, Castor, will you take second watch when I come get you?"

Castor blinked and nodded slowly, "Uh, okay."

Dale raised a paw, "I'll take third watch if you like."

Mira nodded at him, "Sounds good, Dale. Now, all of you need to get some sleep."

Sekani looked up from where he was sprawled on top of Ahanu, "One question. Since when did you become the leader of our group?"

Cora weakly smacked Sekani on the ear, "Because she has the most experience, thats 'since when' you goof! Now shut up, go to sleep, and if you snore I swear I'll use WaterGun on you." Sekani squeaked and made a huge show of curling up and breathing silently. Cora rolled her eyes, "Good night everyone. Call me if I need to take a watch." She retracted into her shell and fell silent.

One by one the other Pokemon curled up in a tight group and fell asleep. Dale was the last one to drift off, his big brown eyes on Mira until his eyes slid shut and his breathing evened out so that she knew he had truly fallen asleep. Mira turned away from her new companions and looked up at the moon.

Just like every night, she stared right at the moon and whispered softly, "Goodnight Jack, I hope you're enjoying the path you chose to walk." She studied the moon for a few more seconds before turning her gaze alertly to the surrounding desert. _Because I'm not too sure about the one I'm walking._


	9. Chapter 9

**Review response: Dear Shadow-Snivy, hello! I deeply apologize for this being so late. However, something happened in my Fanfiction account that prevented me from posting. Has anyone else noticed the missing options bar in the copy-n-paste? Not only am I unable to find the line breaks, but all of my italics and bolds automatically reset and I can't get them back. Anyway, Sekani and Ahanu are cute aren't they? I love writing them together, they make such an insufferable pair! You are a very astute reader by the way, I don't think there is a single hint in my story that you've failed to mention in you review. Dale is one of the most interesting characters I write in this story, he is the logic and compassion of the group and just what Mira needs. Castor and Cora are close, there is no mistake about that. However, I can't help but wonder how a relationship of the nature you are suggesting would work out, they are opposing types after all. I misspelled something again? Oh dear. Thank you for this review, it does indeed inspire me to write. All my reviews do.**

**Dear Alice-Chan123, greetings! I think I may have unfairly confused you in the last chapter, so allow me to clear that up. Mira does not have amnesia, that was simply Sekani opening his big mouth again. If you are referring to her lack of knowledge about her scar, anyone who underwent that much trauma in a single night can't be expected to remember it in logical, painstaking clarity. Yes, Sekani was not talkative as a child, but not because he didn't have anything to say, he simply couldn't figure out what to say first! I know someone like him in that respect, actually. On a last note, not everyone who has high energy likes sweet things, I personally despise things that are overly sweet but am about as energetic as Sekani. Enjoy the new chapter!**

** A/N: I don't own Pokemon and since I can't figure out how to italicize the character thoughts, from now on they will be marked by this, ~what a lovely day!~ see? Good, enjoy! -**

**A/N Update: Thank you AmorphousExplorer for your solution! I will be fixing chapters 9 to 11 immediately.**

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** Chapter Nine: The World Underground**

Castor stared at the looming mouth of the cave and swallowed a little bit. I_t's so ... dark. Even in the daytime the light barely reaches past the first few feet of the cave entrance._ He looked over a Leal, "Are you sure this is the entrance to the Dugtrio den?"

Leal rubbed his head, "Well, not **exactly**. This is the entrance to a network of underground caves and tunnels that houses many different clans. **Including** the Dugtrio."

Sekani fidgeted nervously, "Uh, you do know the way through the caves, right? Right?"

Leal shrugged, "I thought that was Ahanu's job." All eyes turned to the Wobbuffet in question.

Ahanu quailed, "What? Me? I come from a different set caves! I don't know where anything is in there!"

Sekani threw his paws into the air, "We're doomed! If we go in there we will never come out and no Pokemon will ever know what happened to us! Mothers will tell stories of how we disappeared and starved to death and how we wander the desert still as lonely spirits who moan and wail and-"

Cora smacked him on the back of his head, "Do you ever **not** overdramatize everything that happens to us? Honestly! You should have been born as a traveling entertainment Pokemon!"

Sekani whined loudly, "Will you stop doing that? It hurts!"

Mira shook her head and marched into the cave, "One, we won't get anything done if we simply stand here. Two, you forget, Sekani, that Leal just stated how all sorts of Pokemon live in those caves. If we get lost, we can always ask one of them for help. Let's go."

Castor watched as she lit up a little bit of the cave with her cheek pouches. _She seems to know what she's doing. Plus, she hasn't led us astray thus far._ He looked over his shoulder and motioned for the others to follow him inside, "Come on guys! The sooner we get in the sooner we get help for Nagai Kusa!" Cora nodded and followed him in, however, he noticed that she looked more then a bit nervous as they proceeded farther into the cave. He smiled comfortingly at her and raised the power on his tail flame a little bit, "Don't worry, I'm sure the Pokemon in there are friendly."

Cora returned the smile weakly, "Yeah, friendly." Leal, Ahanu, and Sekani huddled close to the light cast by his fire, each one tense and alert.

Ahanu wrapped his arms around Sekani, "It's scary in here!" He whispered emphatically to his recently chosen best friend.

Sekani nodded sympathetically at first, but suddenly looked at Ahanu oddly, "Wait a minute!" He wormed out of Ahanu's embrace and shook a paw at him accusingly, "You're a Wobbuffet! Wobbuffets live in caves just like this one! How can it be scary?" he humphed, "And Cora calls me a coward..."

Ahanu defended himself sulkily, "I've never been in these caves! I heard that the Gengar clan home den is in here and they scare me. Besides, you're scared too, remember? Mister 'I'm going to die and become a Poke-legend."

An argument might have erupted between the two tense Pokemon if Castor hadn't shoved his tail between them, "Enough you two! Get along of I'll make you walk in the dark. Keep your eyes peeled for someone who can give us directions." Sekani and Ahanu grumbled softly but apparently took Castor's threat seriously because they didn't restart their argument.

Castor rolled his eyes and kept walking, keeping his eyes firmly on Mira and Dale. He felt a tiny frown crease his forehead at the sight of the Eevee. Ever since Dale had met the Pikachu, he had been spending more time with her then with Castor and his friends. Not that he really minded, but it was confusing for him.

_ And then after that fight with the Fearow, the two of them have been disappearing together before dawn and reappearing completely sweaty and excited right after the rest of us wake up_. Castor had asked Dale about the disappearing act, but his friend had simply shrugged and said something about her giving him tips on increasing his endurance.

That was all well and good, but Castor couldn't help feeling just a tiny bit miffed at how Mira had singled Dale out for training and yet remained aloof and business-like to everyone else. That, and his constant hanging around with Mira was making Cora strangely depressed and snappy.

A strange skittering noise yanked his attention back to the present. He tensed and swung his tail a little bit in the direction of the noise, "Did you hear that?" He whispered.

Cora nodded and inched closer to him, "What do you think it was?"

Leal faced outward and stretched out a paw to shield her, "Do not worry, Cora. If it is hostile, I will ensure it does not harm you!" Whatever it was that lurked in the darkness seemed to find Leal's statement amusing. An eerily echoing giggle seemed to come from all around them, sending chills up Castor's spine, _Oh for the love of-! We're barely an hour's walk inside and already we're encountering trouble!_

Ahead of them, Mira had straightened and exuded more electricity, bathing the expanse of the tunnel they were walking through in yellow light. Nothing, no matter were they looked, they couldn't find the source of the eerie giggles. Sekani began to whimper in fear, "Do you think it's a ghost?"

_ A Ghost-type maybe, they are rumored to be the kind to love pulling pranks like this._ Castor drew himself to his full height, knowing perfectly well that it would be unimpressive to any Pokemon larger then Ahanu, and called, "Who's out there?" There was no response other then the sudden silence. _Maybe we accidentally wandered into someone's home without knowing._

He glanced around and called, "I'm sorry if we wandered into your home or disturbed you in any way. We're merely looking for the Dugtrio home den." Silence was still his only answer. Swallowing a little bit to wet his fear-dried throat, he continued, "If you could just be so kind as to direct us in the direction we need to go, we'll be on our way."

Sekani suddenly screamed shrilly, Castor whirled to see his Aipom friend floating in the air for seemingly no reason. There wasn't even the telltale gleam of a Pokemon using Confusion. Leal jumped forward and grabbed onto Sekani's foot paws, "I've got you!" Laughter that didn't seem to have an owner filled the air and Leal was lifted up as well.

Castor felt his heart pound in fright, _I might hurt them if I use Flamethrower!_ He leaped to one side and shouted, "Cora use WaterGun!" Cora obeyed shakily, water sprayed out and soaked the two mysteriously floating Pokemon, but Castor didn't see or hear any reaction from their attacker.

Ahanu waddled forward and wrapped his arms around Leal's waist, "I told you these caves were spooky!"

Sekani squirmed and wiggled, screeching frantically, "Okay, okay! These caves are terrifying! Now help me! I don't want to become a ghost!"

Whatever was lifting them apparently couldn't handle Ahanu's weight added to Sekani's and Leal's. It dropped them with another creepy giggle. Sekani clutched at Ahanu, wailing unconsolably like a newly hatched Pokemon. Leal clambered to his feet and glared all around, "Where is it? Why can we not see our attacker?"

Castor strained his eyes but still couldn't make anything out. To add insult to injury, their mystery assailant began to sing in a lonely lilting, high-pitched voice.

_I knew a Pokemon who once said,_

_ I'll never be afraid of darkness and death! _

_ He went to the caves, _

_ Where the moon forever glows. _

_ And claimed that he would conquer, _

_ For the light that he so loves!_

_ But that Pokemon,_

_ Is now gone. _

_ Swallowed by the darkness, _

_ That I live on! _

Sekani wailed loud enough to drown out the rest of the song, "Get me out of here! I don't want to swallowed by anything! I'm too young and handsome to die!" Ahanu covered Sekani's mouth, attempting to muffle his panicked wails.

Mira ran over to them and shouted in an authoritative voice, "Leal! Your clan learn Foresight at an early age, use it!"

Leal looked surprised, "Oh, that's right!" He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. When his eyes opened, the emitted bright red beams of energy. Leal swept his eyes around the cave passage, his brow furrowed in concentration. His eyes swept over something that wasn't part of the rock formation and he focused on it.

After full second the 'something' was revealed to be a small Pokemon. Castor huffed air out of his lungs, _well if she isn't a Ghost-type, I don't know what is!_ Their attacker was a dark bluish-green, ghost-like Pokémon. While she had no visible arms or legs, her lower half had several small appendages and resembled a ruffled Kirlia dress. She had several round, red gems around her neck and long, flowing lilac-tipped 'hair'. Her large eyes were composed of yellow sclera with red irises.

She glared at Leal, "Now look what you've done! You've ruined my fun you stupid Riolu!" She pouted in mid-air, seemingly unaware of the disbelieving and angry looks directed her way.

Mira crossed her front paws over her chest, "Fun? Fun? How is nearly giving Sekani a heart attack and trying to scare the willies out of the rest of us, fun?" Her gaze became hard, "Here's a question to ask yourself, Misdreavus. Now that Leal's used Foresight on you, what is to keep me from having 'fun' with you? Thunderbolt style."

The Misdreavus tilted her chin upwards and tried to look regal, "You wouldn't dare. Not in these caves, when you're obviously lost, not when I could call my family down on you."

Castor glared at the Ghost-type, "Some Ghost-type you are. The moment you get caught and need to take responsibility for your actions, you threaten to call down your siblings. Look what you did to Sekani! You think he was having fun?" The Misdreavus followed his pointing paw with her eyes and studied Sekani.

The poor Aipom had always been afraid of Ghost-types, and after getting trapped in the rubble of his home had developed a fear of dark enclosed spaces. Now that both of his phobias had seemingly ganged up on him, the poor Pokemon was actually sobbing his tiny heart out on Ahanu's non-existent shoulder.

Her gaze softened and became slightly remorseful, "Oh," She floated down so that Sekani could see her. He quailed and Leal leaped between them, the Riolu's glare warning her to back off. She stared at the ground, "I'm sorry, I didn't know he'd get **that** scared. It's just ... my brothers and sisters talk all the time about how fun it is to pull pranks on anyone who wanders in here, so I thought I'd give it a try ... I didn't realize that I was being that scary."

Cora apparently refused to go easy on her, "Well, congratulations. You have successfully taken an already Ghostaphobic and claustrophobic Pokemon and made him cry like a hatchling. I hope it was as fun as your siblings said it would be."

The Misdreavus sank so low to the ground that the tips of her dress-like appendages were brushing the dirt, "I really am sorry. Please don't yell at me anymore, I honestly didn't mean to hurt anyone." She sniffled and Castor felt a touch of sympathy for her. _She probably was using all of tactics needed to scare a native cave Pokemon and didn't realize it only takes a tenth of that to scare non-cave dwellers._

Mira took control, "Well, if you want to make it up to us, and believe me you do, then you can direct us to the Dugtrio home den. If you don't, I'll make sure you're sorry, got it?" The now terrified looking Ghost Pokemon nodded hastily. Mira looked her up and down, "Now, what's your name?"

The Misdreavus dipped her head politely, "My name is Lilith Misdreavus of the Mismagius clan. I'm really sorry about scaring you so badly. Here, follow me." She lifted into the air and began floating off down the cave tunnel. Mira glanced at Castor, he shrugged, and they all set off after her. Leal, Ahanu, and Cora all working on calming down Sekani as they went deeper into the network of caves.

Castor approached Mira quietly, "How did you know that the Misdreavus was there and that it wasn't a real ghost?"

Mira snorted contemptuously, "Because in all of time I've traveled and been alive, I've never seen a 'real' ghost. Only Ghost-types. Besides, the song she sang? It's classic chant for when a Ghost-type is pulling a prank, I'm surprised you didn't recognize it." Castor made a soft 'oh' noise.

Dale piped up, "Have you traveled long?"

Mira's ears flattened defensively, "I ... suppose you could say that. Enough talking, we need to keep alert for any more surprises."

Castor fell back a bit so that he walked abreast of the now cognitive Sekani. _Wow, talk about privacy oriented. You'd think someone who's apparently so well traveled would be friendlier. I wonder how can Dale stand to spend so much time with her when she's so ... curt._

Sekani's voice interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, Castor? How do we know that we can trust that Misdreavus? I - I mean ... she's a Ghost-type."

Castor gently patted his friend's shoulder, "Don't worry, Sekani. I think she's on the level. Plus, if she isn't, we can always fight her off. Leal used Foresight, remember."

Sekani nodded but still didn't look at all happy about following Lilith. Everyone walked in silence, no one felt much like talking. The quiet in the caves, normally interrupted only by the dripping of moisture, seemed too heavy to break with speech. The very sound of their paw steps seemed almost like a crime.

Castor swallowed hard, _how long have we been walking? There's no sense of time in here._ Keeping his voice to a whisper for an unknown reason, Castor said, "Hey, Lilith? How much farther is it to the Dugtrio?"

Lilith glanced over her shoulder at him and then turned her eyes forward, "I'm not sure. It depends on what routes are open today."

Cora frowned and asked, "What do you mean? Are cave-ins frequent around here?" Sekani squeaked at the thought.

Lilith shook her head and looked slightly nervous, "There's a group in these caves, they used to be just the neighborhood jerks, but after all the recent rain and that earthquake we had a while back, they've become an actual gang. During all of the chaos and hubbub of repairing everything, they managed to steal a lot of stuff and used the stuff to get more powerful. These days everyone has to be extra careful to avoid them."

Mira glanced back at the group, her green eyes questioning. Castor, guessing what she was thinking, nodded approvingly. Everyone but Sekani and Ahanu nodded their assent to her silent question, instead they shook their heads emphatically.

However, the two were clearly outvoted and, with a slight ear flick of acknowledgement, Mira turned back to Lilith, "Take us the shortest route, Lilith. We'll deal with the gang if they try to give us any trouble."

Lilith looked shocked, "Really? Are you sure? The leader is a very good battler and her gang is totally loyal to her." _Her? The leader is a girl? That's new. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, after all, Queen Absol is a female._

Leal spoke up, "A lady leads the gang? What type is she?"

Lilith glanced around nervously as she led them down a slightly altered course, "She's a Steel/Fairy-type. A Mawile to be exact and she has a very vindictive temper. Most of the types in here can't do much damage to her and everyone else is simply too low of a level. A couple of Ghastly joined her and after that, no one has dared cross her." She sighed, "My mom says that things used to be much more peaceful around here. But after the flash floods and earthquakes started hitting more often, well, Pokemon are starting to look out more for themselves then for others."

Castor frowned to himself, _A Mawile huh? I think I've heard of those. They're known as the Deceptive Pokemon clan because they look sweet and easygoing but they have a pair of steal growths that act like huge jaws when they get angry. I hope we haven't bit off more then we can chew ... no pun intended._

Trying not to worry, Castor told himself that in a cave network this large, they probably wouldn't run into any trouble whatsoever. For a while, the silence seemed to prove him right. Mira had, as a precaution, lowered her light to a small circle so as not to attract attention. Everyone was quiet, and since Lilith appeared to be leading them honestly and not deceiving them, Castor almost found himself semi-relaxed. Almost.

It wasn't until they stopped for lunch that Castor's nervously twisting gut proved correct instead of his mental denials. A single pair of paw steps sounded in the darkness, drawing steadily nearer. Ahanu looked up and instantly went on alert, "It's a Mawile! Coming straight for us!"

Mira and Castor turned up their lights, throwing illumination upon the approaching Pokemon. It was indeed a Mawile, who smiled at them timidly. Castor studied her. She was a short, bipedal Pokémon with a pale yellow body and black arms and feet. Her legs had a thick, fur-like covering resembling the bottoms of bells with slits all along the lower edge. Her most notable feature was the pair of large black jaws emerging from the back of her head, still visible even though they were half hidden behind her body.

Castor knew from the descriptions he had heard that the jaws had an oval yellow spot on their top surface and contained ten teeth - six on the top row and four on the bottom. While he knew that the jaws were actually transformed steel horns, he also knew that Mawile could articulate them at will, using them to bite enemies and chew through iron beams.

She cocked her head to one side, staring at them cutely with her red eyes and making the two black ear-like extensions on either side of its head bob softly.

Mira kept her voice neutral, as if she hadn't noticed how Lilith was hiding in fear behind the biggest Pokemon of their group, Ahanu. With almost menacing courtesy she said, "Hello, can we help you with anything?"

The Mawile lifted her head slightly and sniffed the air with her invisible nose, "Excuse me for disturbing you, but are those Pecha Berry poffins I smell?"

Mira nodded slowly, "Yes," reaching into her satchel, she pulled one out and offered it to the newcomer, "would you like one?"

The Mawile smiled adorably and skipped forward towards Mira, "Oh, yes please!" Taking the poffin from her paw, the Mawile nibbled on it delicately. Castor found himself slowly letting his guard down, _she sure doesn't seem like the leader of a bullying gang._

Lilith seemed to notice how the others were beginning to relax and shouted frantically, "Don't let her fool you! That's the one I told you about! She's just trying to lower your guard before stealing all of your supplies!"

The Mawile stopped nibbling and whirled in the direction of Lilith's shrill voice, "What? What are you doing here you little-" Her composure returned and she smiled, "Oh, sorry about that Lilith. I didn't realize you were here." The crafty look that flickered across her face for a split second was enough to put Castor on high alert again.

She continued munching on the poffin casually, "Have you been making up stories to tell strangers **again**? You know that your mother will be worried sick about you. What with the recent flooding and all. You shouldn't be wandering around telling Pokemon such awful lies."

Lilith cringed and hid behind Ahanu again, her voice was a tiny murmur, "It's not the flooding she's worried about..."

The deceptive yellow Pokemon turned to Castor, "Let me guess, what did she tell you I was? A gangster? A ghost in disguise? A **human** who mutated in an attempt to infiltrate the Pokemon world?" She laughed, "Sweet Lilith is always making up the wildest stories and convincing herself that their real. I suppose she means well enough but, take my advice, don't believe everything she says."

Castor glared at her, "Uh, huh. Didn't sound like she was making anything up to me."

Again, the Mawile laughed. Her laughter reminded Castor of the tinkling noise tiny raindrops made on the ancient metal pan his next door neighbor kept. When her laughter had died down she replied, "Of course she didn't sound like she was making it up! That's because she honestly believes every word she is saying!"

Breaking off a piece of her poffin, the Mawile leaned over so that she could see the cowering Misdreavus and held it out coaxingly, "Come on, Lily, it's me, Cassandra. You know that I'm your sister's best friend."

Lilith shook her head emphatically, "No you're not. You just try to use my sister like you're trying to use me and these other Pokemon. Leave me alone!"

Leal stepped forward, "That is enough, Mawile! I can sense your dark thoughts, what Lilith say's is true! Begone foul temptress, before I run you off by force!"

Cassandra Mawile looked startled, then her expression soured. She threw the remains of the Pecha poffin on the ground and snarled, "Oh, really? Big words coming from a first evolution Pokemon! Let's see how you back them up."

She took several backwards steps away from them and turned so that her steel 'fake' jaws were mostly pointed at them while leaving just enough angle for her to look over her shoulder. She smirked and clacked the huge jaws together menacingly, "Come on out, boys! Lunch is on these gentlefolk and they've promised us a show!"

On her call, three Ghastly and a Haunter floated though the wall and formed a square formation around her. All them were grinning and chuckling. Castor tensed and slid into a fighting pose. He was mildly surprised when Mira suddenly barked out orders, "Leal, use Foresight! Castor, Mawile are weak to fire attacks! Dale, Sekani, she's also weak to ground type attacks! Cora, help Ahanu protect Lilith! Move it everybody! Go, go, go!"

Within seconds, the cave they had stopped in was in chaos. Before the three Ghastly had time to register which Pokemon was Leal, the Riolu had already used Foresight on them, preventing the Ghost-types from going invisible or changing their matter density to avoid attacks. The Haunter was quicker, it dodged the Foresight beam and tried to paralyze Leal with Lick attack.

Leal yelped and leaped to one side, quickly passing his Foresight over the Haunter just before its second Lick Attack hit home and he went down with a strangled cry. Castor focused on the scowling Mawile, _If I take out the leader, the others might give up._ He sucked in air and opened his mouth wide, "Try this on for size!" His Flamethrower attack surged out of his mouth like a raging fire demon.

Cassandra leaped to one side, her expression tense and angry as she began to dodge his repeated Flamethrowers. _Darn she's fast! I only just learned this move, I don't know how to speed up!_ There was a blur in the corner of his eye and Castor realized too late that Cassandra was going on the offensive. She ducked under the flames gushing from his mouth and spun artfully so her steel jaws were facing him.

Castor hastily tried to adjust his position but Cassandra was faster. Her jaws clamped painfully around his midriff, knocking the wind out of his lungs and threatening to crush his ribs. He weakly cried out as stars exploded in his vision and his stomach began to painfully throb. He heard a sudden thump and the Vice Grip attack instantly loosened.

He dropped to ground gasping and helplessly watched as Dale circled the Mawile, the Eevee's hackles were raised and he was snarling viciously at Cassandra. Castor wanted to cry out a warning about how fast she was, but could only manage a loud wheeze and a not-so-rewarding throb from his ribs and chest.

Cassandra spun and snapped her jaws at Dale, trying to clamp him in the same Vice Grip attack that she had been using on Castor moment's before. To the surprise of both Castor and Cassandra, Dale dodged it with apparent ease and retaliated with the same figure eight pattern that he had used to confuse Sekani so long ago.

Cassandra spun in circles, her steel jaws snapping wildly in an attempt to catch Dale. Dale suddenly reversed his pattern and careened full tilt into his opponent's midriff, slamming his head into her stomach and then flicking it to send her flying.

_ What kind of attack was that?_ Castor, having finally regained his breath, stood up and hurried to Dale's side. All around him, Thunderbolts and WaterGun attacks flew everywhere in combat against the Nightshade and Confusion attacks unleashed by the Ghastlys and the Haunter.

Much to his surprise, Cassandra had already picked herself up and was backing up into the fray. Her red eyes gleamed furiously as she glared at Dale and Castor over her shoulder and clicked her fighting jaws menacingly, "You are **so** going to pay for that Eevee!"

There was a wild yell from the left side and Sekani suddenly barreled into her, scratching and biting for all he was worth. Cassandra reeled back and shrieked in surprise. Castor and Dale exchanged glances, _what got into him?_ Dale smiled a little bit, "Look's like he learned Astonish." _Oh_, Castor looked back towards were the Mawile was frantically trying to turn around and use her main weapon against the wildly scratching Aipom. _So that's what a raging Sekani looks like. Yikes._

Castor sensed something behind him and whirled. _Haunter!_ Without thinking or preparing, he used Flamethrower on the would-be ambusher. The Haunter howled in pain and held up it's seemingly disembodied hands to cover it's face.

Castor poured on more Flamethrower, scorching the Haunter until, to his great surprise, it fainted right at his feet. Panting slightly, Castor grinned, _wow! I took out a Haunter!_ Dale's voice cut through his inner back-patting, "Castor!"

The Charmander whirled, Cassandra had finally fought off Sekani's Astonish attack and was buffeting the poor Aipom in a strong Fairy Wind Attack. Dale hissed desperately at Castor, "Quickly! While she's busy, hit her with Flamethrower!"

Castor growled and his tail-flame flared with rage at seeing the scratches and bruises Fairy Wind was inflicting Sekani. His mouth opened and he poured all of new-found rage into the Flamethrower that seared through air and slammed into Cassandra's back and fighting jaws. The Mawile screamed in pain and the Fairy Wind stopped immediately. She fell flat on her on stomach, whimpering as smoke tendrils curled up from the scorched area.

A stunned silence fell. The three Ghastly, seeing that they were the only ones who remained, huddled together defensively. They were no longer wearing their clan's trademark grin. Castor snarled at Cassandra, "Surrender, or I flame you again."

She looked up, tears streaming down her face, she answered him, hiccups sometimes interrupting her words, "Okay ... okay I surrender. Just don't ... don't hurt me anymore ... please."

Castor nodded and started to reach out a paw to help her up, when Dale yanked him back hastily. Castor half turned to ask what Dale was doing when he spotted Mira standing a few feet away, her cheeks sparking dangerously. _She isn't!_ "Mira wait! She surrendered!"

Mira snorted, "Fake Tears." Without another word, she unleashed a Thunderbolt attack upon the wide eyed Mawile. Castor winced at the high pitched scream that the Thunderbolt caused, he slapped his paws over his earholes and wondered if he should do something to stop Mira, _at her level? Not likely I'll be able to do anything._

When the flow of electricity stopped, Mira marched over to the whimpering Mawile and stood within her line of sight, "Surrender for real this time?" Cassandra nodded weakly, her fur was smoking and static sparks were arcing and hissing around her limbs, paralyzing her. Mira leaned down so that she was eye-level with the prone Pokemon, "Good, now listen up, Mawile. I have no quarrel with your clan, but if you continue to bully and extort the other clans who live in these caves," she bared her sharp little teeth and sparked her cheeks warningly, "then I'll make you wish that Castor **had** flamed you again. Understood?"

Cassandra twitched her head in a weak affirmative. Mira stood up fully and faced the three Ghastly, "You three, take your two friends and get out of my sight." The three Ghastly glanced at each other and then timidly used their Confusion abilities to lift the Mawile and Haunter and float hurriedly away. There was a thick silence, everyone holding their breath in case the former attackers attempted to return.

Lilith suddenly broke the silence, "You ... you did it! You said you could handle them and you did! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She flew forward and happily hugged the nearest member of the team ... who happened to be Sekani.

The Aipom yelped in surprise, "Hey, hey! Watch the bruises, Misdreavus!" He froze for a second when she snuggled him, his eyes bulged and he looked down at her nervously. _I guess getting hugged by your phobia is not the most comforting experience_ Castor mused slightly.

* * *

Mira shifted uncomfortably, trying to inch past the pack of young Digletts that were crowded around her and her friends excitedly. _Note to self, never underestimate the speed at which gossip can travel. It's been barely an hour since we fought that stupid Mawile and her gang and already we're celebrities!_

It would seem that the Dugtrio had been especially harassed by the gang because the moment the seven companions had entered the Dugtrio home den, they had been mobbed by literally hundreds of newly acquired adoring fans. Even Cora, a Water-type who would usually been looked upon with suspicion, was being given the 'adored superhero' treatment.

Mira was privately hating every second of it. It was taking all of her willpower not to unleash panic-powered Thunderbolts at the mass of tunnel loving Pokemon all around her. The expressions on the others faces showed that similar thoughts were running through their heads. A whoop to her left made Mira roll her eyes, _Check that, **most** of the others are having similar thoughts. Sekani is enjoying every horrible second of this._

"Enough! My clan, let them through! I wish to gaze upon the young Pokemon who had the courage to finally put Cassandra in her place." Almost instantly the clog of Mole Pokemon receded, clearing a path to the far end of the large cavern where a Dugtrio poked out of the ground, watching them intently.

Mira mentally ran over what she knew of Dugtrio. No one had ever really explained to her how a Diglett could evolve into a three-headed Dugtio, so basically the extent of her information was: they're small, brown, can tunnel like no Pokemon's business, and are generally friendly.

Her companions bowed deeply to the Dugtrio. Dale nudged her lightly with his tail, signaling that she should too. Mira simply dipped her head politely. "So," mused the Dugtrio, "You are the travelers who stood up to Cassandra. What brings you to our cave? Only one of you is a cave dweller by nature. Please, tell us of your travels."

Mira remained silent while Castor artfully explained why they had come, starting from the earthquake in his village, the trip through the plains, the river crossing, meeting Mira and her friends, how they joined forces to find the Dugtrio caves, all the way to the fight with Cassandra and her ghost-types.

After listening to the story, the Dugtrio turned to her, "And what is your side of this tale, Mira Pikachu?"

Mira shrugged, "Not much to tell before meeting Castor, I got washed away from my den during a storm, met Ahanu-"

Ahanu popped in, "She saved my life!" Mira shot him an irritated look that shut him up.

Mira continued, "Yes ... I did **kind of** save his life. Later, I met Leal and he asked to accompany us. Our journey was mostly uneventful until we reached Airmd Town and the rest is history."

The Dugtrio bobbed its heads up and down in understanding, "An amazing tale. Please allow us to be your hosts for the rest of day while we deliberate on your bold plan." _Wonderful, politics._ A strange scent of newly cut grass wafted over her nose and Mira's instincts suddenly cried, _behind you!_ Mira ignored Castor's thank you's in favor of glancing over her shoulder, _nothing but Digletts and Dugtrio ... huh, then what was that smell?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi everyone! This is a heads up to let you know that this is the last finished chapter I have. I will try to update every week but from here on it may be touch and go on the chapters. You have my sincerest apologies ahead of time if this happens. Also, since I still haven't figured out how to make the italics and bolds work, words that have an unusual amount of stress placed on them will have these marks on them; 'really?' I hope this isn't too inconvenient. Enjoy this chapter and cliffhanger alert! **

**Disclaimer, I do not own Pokemon, the only things I own are the plot and characters.**

**A/N: Another chapter fixed!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Homecoming**

Castor ran through the grass, his eyes wide with delight as he headed straight for his favorite hill. His paws beat a fast but steady rhythm on the ground. His heart hammered in his chest, with every beat it seemed to cry, _almost home! Almost home!_ His friends were all running along beside him, each one trying to outpace the other in their excitement to see Nagai Kusa.

As they all began running up the hill, Leal began to pull ahead, his natural stamina aiding him in the impromptu race. Dale called to Castor from his right, "Don't let him get away!" Castor laughed breathlessly and urged his legs to go faster, _almost home! Almost home!_

As he slowly began pulling next to Leal, the Riolu call easily to him, "You cannot outrun a member of the lucario clan, friend Castor! We can cross entire mountains within a day without tiring!"

From just behind them, Dale called gleefully, "Then who is that up ahead?" The two forward Pokemon looked up the hill just in time to see a flash of Mira's yellow tail disappearing into the grass at its crest. _How did she move that fast?_ "Come back here!"

Leal and Castor reached the top of the hill at the same time, with the others close behind. Mira was sitting upright, studying the scene below her. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked, she wasn't even breathing very hard, "Nobody outruns a Pikachu. Nobody. Now take a look down there."

Castor shook off his surprise at Mira's speed and looked down the hill. In front of him stretched his home, Nagai Kusa. From his perch on the hill, he could see Pokemon busily scurrying back and forth, still working on repairs. _It looks like they focused on repairing Healer Miltank's home first. Makes sense, it is the biggest den here and she would definitely be willing to house the young ones._ A smile burst over his face as he thought of the little surprise he'd brought for everyone. He started jumping up and down, trying to gain the villagers attention, "Hey, everyone! Up here! We're back!"

Sekani joined him, "Yeah, and we brought help! Lots of help!" Hearing the commotion, the Pokemon below began noticing the group on the hill. The sound of voices from below grew louder with excitement and several dropped what they were doing to start running up the hill.

Cora lightly punched Castor's shoulder, "What are we waiting for? Let's go home!" Without another word, she burst into a run down the hill, her green shell glinting in the afternoon sun. Castor and Sekani both laughed and immediately took off after her, followed by their new friends. From behind, Castor faintly heard Ahanu's trademark moan of disgust and at having to run again after **just** catching up.

By the time they reached the entrance to Nagai Kusa, all of the villagers were gathered to greet them with questions and cheers. Castor held up his paws for silence, "Hi everyone! Look, before you pester us with questions, I'd like you meet a few someones..." With perfect timing, the group of Diglett that had followed them here burst out of the ground, still chanting their digging song in perfect chorus with their leading Dugtrio.

The villagers stared in shock for several seconds before bursting into wild cheers. Castor waved his paws to garner their silence again, "Everyone, meet Quarry and his family. They're going to help us rebuild our village and become our newest residents." Everyone burst out cheering and whooping again and crowded around the newcomers, introducing themselves and asking questions.

Healer Miltank pushed her way through the crowd and towered over Castor, a huge smile on her face, "Such brave Pokemon you are! Here, I have something for you." Her smile got even bigger and she extended a hoof slowly. Castor felt his eyes grow huge when they caught sight of the small medallion dangling from it.

Castor reached out a paw and reverently touched the multi-colored stone glinting in its center, "Mom's pendant, it survived the earthquake ... how?" Healer Miltank chuckled, "I'm not sure, but when we were trying to excavate your den they found it under a large rock. It was dusty, but as you can see, it's perfectly unharmed. We have yet to find the smaller one, but I'm sure we will soon." She suddenly reached out and gently hung it around his neck.

Castor blushed and went to remove it, "No, no! I couldn't! My mom said-"

The large Dairy Pokemon lightly slapped his paws, "I am well aware of the legend your mother told you about this medallion. I am also firmly convinced that she would have wanted you to wear this today. What you and your friends did was a brave and noble thing and our village will be forever healthier for it! Now wear it! Wear it with pride!"

Castor blushed deeply, "Thanks, Healer Miltank. That means a lot to me." She simply laughed and shooed him towards the dancing that had broken out, mostly due to Sekani, in the center of the village.

Castor found himself swept away in the laughter and song of his fellow Pokemon, he leaped and spun, jigged and clapped. He was so swept away in the merriment that he failed to notice that one of his new friends wasn't there enjoying it.

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Mira could hear the impromptu music rising from the square, compliments of Quarry and his brood. The other Pokemon were dancing and clapping in time with the mining song gleefully. She smiled softly, _all it took was hope and suddenly the damage of the village has seemly vanished._ During all of the excitement of a homecoming, no one had noticed that Mira hadn't run down the hill with them. Even the late-coming Ahanu had failed to notice her sitting perfectly still in the tall grass.

Mira bobbed her head gently in time to the merriment below, content to watch from afar. It wasn't as if she didn't want to see the village, it was simply that she didn't want to face the natural curiosity that her appearance would spark. The fewer questions she would have to face, the better it would be. A feisty urge welled up inside her, begging to join in the fun below.

_No,_ she told the urge firmly, _I would just ruin it._ Despite her stern mental reprimand, the urge did not go away, if anything, it became stronger. Mira's tail was the first part of her to give in. It began flicking and bouncing, followed soon by her right rear paw, then the left. Soon, Mira Pikachu found herself happily dancing by herself to the music below. Her paws quickly slid into a familiar dance routine of jump, pirouette, bow, jig, and repeat.

Her thoughts slid past the dark memories that so often haunted her and finally produced the happier ones beneath with shameless clarity. Mira laughed bittersweetly as she continued to dance, _Oh, Jack ... you would have loved every second of this. You would have probably insisted we go down there and dance like proper Pokemon._ Mira suddenly stumbled, her concentration disrupted at thoughts of Jack and a hidden rock on the ground. Her paws flailed outward in a surprised attempt to halt her fall.

Small paws caught her around the chest, "Are you okay?" Mira looked up into Dale's big brown eyes, startled by his sudden appearance.

Hastily rearing back onto her hind paws, she found herself blushing a little bit, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Dale sat down in front of her, a tiny smile playing on his lips, "You could go down there you know, I promise the villagers won't bite you."

Mira shook her head and averted her gaze, feeling embarrassed, "That isn't what I'm afraid of. Pokemon don't usually like to dance with someone they know nothing about. I'm not in the mood to answer questions." She abruptly looked back up at him and cocked her head to one side, "Why aren't you down there?"

It was Dale's turn to avert his eyes, "Pokemon like to dance with someone who has a bad leg even less then they like dancing with strangers. I'd just get in the way." Mira felt sudden pity stab her heart, _He always acts as if his leg doesn't bother him, I guess that's not entirely true._

Something in Mira acted on its own and extended a paw in invitation. The words leapt from her mouth before she had time to think about it, "I'll dance with a lame Pokemon if you'll dance with a stranger." Dale looked up at her, shock in his eyes.

Then he smiled lopsidedly, "I thought I was supposed to be the comforting one of this group."

Mira laughed to cover up her faint, unexplainable embarrassment, "Watch it Eevee, I don't do the warm fuzzy act often. Enjoy it while you can."

Dale stood up and placed his chin in her outstretched paw, "Okay then, I will." Mira hesitantly smiled back before she resumed dancing, albeit at a much slower pace. Dale watched her routine for a minute before making up one to go with it.

Bobbing his head and tail to the music, he began to thump his forepaws against the ground in rhythmic patterns of four in sets of three before making two small jumps in Mira's direction as she jigged around him in a circle. He continued to repeat it, one-two-three-four, pause, one-two-three-four, pause, one-two-three-four, jump, jump. Slowly, the two Pokemon began to speed up as they became more comfortable around each other and their respective dance roles until the two were a blur of color, motion, and laughter.

When the music finally stopped, both Pokemon flopped breathlessly onto the grass. Dale's ears flopped comically as he stretched on his stomach, "Wow, I never knew dancing took so much energy..."

Mira nodded from her spread-eagle position the grass, "Yeah, some Pokemon use it to train their speed and evasiveness. Of course ... most-" Mira stopped herself from finishing the sentence just in time. She had almost said the word, 'trainer'. Rapidly revising her statement, she finished, "Well, most Pokemon prefer traditional methods and so don't explore the possibilities concealed in dancing."

She could sense Dale watching her closely for a moment and suddenly felt bad about lying to him, _Well, not a total lie, a lot of Pokemon **don't** consider the potential of the dance floor ... it's just their trainers are even more narrow-minded. Besides, humans are a myth here so he wouldn't have believed me anyway._

Dale either didn't notice or didn't comment on Mira's guilty inner turmoil. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet and lightly nudged her paw with his nose, "Come on, let's go get something to eat in the village."

Mira groaned, "Wonderful, buy one lunch get village sized info grilling for free."

Dale laughed, "Don't a scared skitty. You'll have to face it sometime and with the Quarry's family having just arrived they may not notice you so much."

Mira sighed and rolled to her feet, "Fine, whatever, I guess your right." With a mildly dejected look on her face, Mira slowly followed Dale down the hill. When they reached the village square, they were just in time to hear Sekani's 'grand performance'. The Aipom was standing on a large rock gesturing wildly and recounting the fight with the spearow gang.

At least, she assumed that was the story he was telling, it was hard to tell under all of the exaggerations he was slathering over it like miltank butter. Mira felt her ears droop sarcastically, _Three Fearow using Flamethrower? Why does that sound just the tiniest bit off? Oh yeah, Fearow can't learn that move!_ Dale leaned over to her, "Sekani's got some imagination doesn't he?"

Mira nodded, "He's making it sound like he did all of the battling and we just sat there twiddling our paws." Dale cocked his head to one side, "Except for you. Can pikachu's even learn Bolt Strike?" Mira chuckled and shook her head. _Nope, I don't know Zap Cannon either. Impressive to think that I took out 'twenty spearows and those fearow all in one blow' with it then._ Mira noticed Ahanu listening off to the side, his squinted eyes shining with naive belief of every word. _Good grief, he was **there**. He can't really believe this stuff, no Pokemon is that dumb._

When Ahanu caught sight of Mira his face lit up and he happily waddled over. Leaning over to her and whispering so no one would be disturbed from Sekani's narrative, "I had no idea the fight was this intense after I passed out! Why didn't you tell me you knew Zap Cannon?" _Correction, one Pokemon is that dumb and I'm stuck with him._

Mira gave Ahanu an unreadable look and opened her mouth to say something when Sekani's narrative came to an abrupt end because of Cora's interruption. The spunky female Squirtle had marched firmly up to Sekani and grabbed his ear, "Good grief! Why don't you just throw in a story about rescuing the Guardian himself and have done with it? How you can hold so much **hot air** in that tiny body of yours, I'll never understand."

Sekani whined and protested on behalf of his ear, "Come on! Let go! You'll stretch it out at this rate and if you stretch it out, my head will look lopsided and if it looks lopsided then I'll be considered an ugly hermit for ever and ever! Then I'll never find a mate or fans or get a comfy twenty room den or-ow!"

Cora had jerked his ear more firmly, "Trust me, no one would notice the difference to your face if your ear became lopsided. Now get over here, sit down, and let Castor tell what really happened. Honestly, am I going to have to babysit you for the rest of my life?" Mira bit back her laughter as Cora dragged the protesting Aipom off of the rock and to the sidelines.

Ahanu's innocent question could be heard by all in the silence that followed, "We rescued the Guardian? When did that happen?" Mira slapped her face with her paw, _oh, for the love of ... never mind._ Dale's contained sniggers were drowned out by the laughter peeling from the other villagers.

Two weeks later, Mira glanced over the village and had to admit to herself one simple fact. Castor had been right. With Quarry and his family happily digging out the old dens, rescuing rocks in the ground and bringing them to the surface to that they could carved into new support pillars, work that would have normally taken months, took mere weeks. Already, the village had gone from mostly rubble and caved-in dens to almost completely repaired. Only a handful of dens still need renovations, the rest sat firm and proud in the earth, ready to withstand earthquakes or rambunctious kids.

Mira caught sight of Healer Miltank waddling her way and had to admit another, even simpler fact. She hated being here. Mira didn't even bother pasting a fake smile on her lips as the overly-caring healer approached, two weeks of constant questions from the residents and happy offers to share a den from the males did that to a Pokemon. She dipped her head curtly, "Healer Miltank."

Seemingly oblivious to Mira's sudden bad mood, the Milk Cow Pokemon nodded greeting to her and spoke in a chipper voice, "Good morning, Mira! How are you today?"

Mira kept her answers as short as possible without being downright nasty, "Fine, you?"

The Healer rubbed her large chin thoughtfully, "Well, actually, I was hoping to find Castor around here somewhere. Do you happen to know where he is?"

Mira knew that Castor was out training in the grasslands, he had been doing that a lot lately. _Choices, choices. Say no and risk Healer Miltank inquiring about me, or tell her the truth and risk an irritated charmander._ "Haven't seen him, sorry." Mira winced almost as soon as the words left her mouth, _please go look for him, please go look for him, please don't ask me to engage in polite gossip._

Miltank sighed a little dejectedly, "Oh, well, I suppose I'll just have to talk to him when he gets back. It's a beautiful morning today isn't it?" _Lightning bolts._

She was saved from answering by the approach of Dale. Her ears pricked in hope, _here for training, yes!_ Dale caught sight of her look and a smile played on his lips, "Good morning, Healer Miltank, how are you doing on this fine day?"

Healer Miltank smiled happily at Dale, "Oh, I'm simply wonderful! What about you? I thought you were off playing with Cora and Leal?"

Dale shrugged, "I was, but then it occurred to me that Mira might like to join us," an evil twinkle entered his eyes, "unless of course, you two are talking. In which case I can come back later."

Mira's ears flattened against her skull, the only outward sign that she was nearly ready to strangle him, _you are **so** going to pay for that if I get stuck with her, Eevee._ Miltank glanced from the Pikachu to the Eevee and then laughed, "Of course not, you two go and play! I'm sure Mira would much rather do that then gossip with me."

Dale thanked the Healer for her kindness, but Mira was already too busy bounding away at top speed to call in kind. When Dale caught up with her outside the village, he gave her look of mild amusement, "You didn't have to run flat out you know, a jog would have sufficed."

Mira promptly tackled him in answer. The Eevee skillfully dodged her dive, "Whoa! No fair!"

She smiled grimly, "Life isn't fair, Dale. Especially when you nearly sentence me to spending time gossiping with that frumpy Pokemon."

Dale retaliated with his own tackle that was similarly dodged, "Healer Miltank is **not** frumpy. You're simply unsociable." His second tackle landed true and he stood triumphantly on top of her ... for about three seconds. Mira shot her back legs out and rolled her body forward so that most of her weight was on her neck, successfully knocking Dale off of her with a faint grunt.

She rolled left, back onto her feet and smirked, "Unsociable and perfectly proud of it, thank you. Besides, I at least don't lie to Pokemon."

Dale wiggled his shoulders in preparation to pounce on her, "Me? Lie? How so?" Mira danced away from his pounce and sent a small volt of electricity skittering across the wet morning grass to zap his tail. Dale yelped in surprise at the special attack.

Mira ignored his protest and answered, "You told Healer Miltank that you had come to invite me to join you, Cora, and Leal in play. Yet here we are, alone."

The Eevee lowered himself to the grass and began his signature 'figure eight' maneuver, attempting to confuse his sparring partner's senses with the constant motion and the sound of rustling grass his paws made. Mira closed her eyes and held still, focusing on the smell of freshly trampled grass, the sound of the Dale's paws, and her own heartbeat.

At exactly the right moment, she leaped straight up into the air and sent a light Thundershock onto the ground below her. Dale's grunt told her that her shock had hit home. Mira landed and initiated a small staring match with Dale. Without breaking his gaze from hers Dale answered, "I was going to give you a group invite. However, Cora and Leal got into a scuffle right before I left. I figured it would be better to leave them alone."

Mira reared up on her hind legs, "A scuffle? Those two?" Dale relaxed slightly at the silent truce sign.

Sitting back on his haunches, Dale shrugged, "Believe it or not, Cora can have a viciously short temper when she wants too. Leal was telling her the story of the Aka and Burū Rescue Team and then mentioned that no other rescue team has been officially formed since."

Mira blinked, "Why would that make her mad?"

Dale laughed, "Cora asked if there were any female members on the team and Leal told her 'of course not'. When she asked him to explain that he told her that the Aka and Burū Rescue Teams was made up mostly of the Charizard and Blastoise clan and was foolish enough to point out the low female birth rate."

_ I still don't see why she would get angry over that._ "And? Surely that wasn't what set her off."

Dale wiggled his ears, a mischievous look on his face, "Leal just **might** have carelessly mentioned that female Pokemon were not best suited for the dirty rigors of a rescue team. She asked why he thought that and things went downhill from there, literally." _Yep, that would do it. Females of a clan that has an unequal male to female birth ratio can be extremely touchy about that subject. Add a slight whiff of machoism, no matter how unintentional and you have the perfect ingredients for a living Squirtle bomb. Still, I never saw her as one to lose her cool over it._

The wind shifted, bringing new scents on its back to Mira's nose. She raised her head slightly, absorbing the information the breeze carried as well as the crisp after-storm morning sun. The soft spice of wood and tang of sweat tickled her small black nose, causing it to twitch, _dodrio runner._ "Someone's coming. Female dodrio."

Dale sniffed at the wind curiously, "Strange, a news runner perhaps?"

Mira's brow furrowed thoughtfully, "Maybe," she pricked her ears, focusing in the direction of the approaching Pokemon, "Whoever she is, she's running full speed. I don't think normal news would warrant that from a dodrio, their **jog** is faster than most Pokemon at a flat out sprint."

Dale was frowning now, "Let's meet her halfway." The two Pokemon broke into a sprint across the open grassland. The Dudrio was breathing hard when it came into sight, Mira felt her anxiety climb a notch, _what would warrant running long enough to tire her out? Her clan are known for their endurance! Something is definitely wrong._ The Dodrio ground to a stop when it finally saw the two approaching Pokemon, all three of her heads hung down and panted. Dale bounded up to the middle head, "You! What's wrong?"

The middle head blinked sluggishly and wheezed, "Message ... Una ... missing ... urgent ..." Dale cocked his head to one side and glanced at Mira. She shrugged helplessly to indicate that she didn't know who 'Una' was either.

Mira spun on her back paws, "Stay with her, I'll go alert Healer Miltank."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello again, everyone! I deeply apologize for this being almost a week late. I had this chapter mostly written out by this time last week, but life stepped in and I couldn't find time to make the necessary edits now required because of no italics or bolds. Speaking of which, upon rereading a previous chapter, I realized that placing a single quotation mark on either end of a stressed word was confusing because I have to use that in other parts of my writing that aren't meant to be in bold. So, I have decided to rescind that and simply allow you, the reader, to place stress on whatever words you deem appropriate.**

** Review response: Dear Shadow Snivy, hello! So, I assume from the review you posted on chapter 9 that you are the 'guest' that so politely and wonderfully commented on my story. If that is your review, don't worry about not having signed in. Since you are not a fan of spoilers, there is not much I can say right now in response to your review. However, I feel obligated to say one thing: If I can, I will do a flashback showing how Sekani reacted to leaving the caves.**

** A/N: Can anyone tell me if I am the only one experiencing a problem with posting stories? I have to Copy-N-Paste my chapters because I don't have a compatible writing program so I can't tell if it is only a glitch with that or with the File Upload as well. If anyone knows the answer or has a solution, please leave a review and tell me. One last thing, I will be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this April by working on a new fanfiction story. So, come April, if you don't hear from me, know that it is because I am working on another story to hopefully post here. Thank you for reading this lengthy note. Enjoy the chapter!**

**A/N Update: Another grateful thank you to AmorphousExplorer for the solution to my chapter problems. It was invaluable.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or their world, the only things I own are the characters and the plot.**

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**Chapter Eleven: Distress Call **

Castor narrowed his eyes and focused on the rock sitting innocently on the ground a few feet away, _Okay, focus Castor, you can do this._ With a low growl of determination, he charged the rock, focusing solely on it and his tail. Leaping into the air at the last second, he swung his tail down at the rock with every ounce of strength he could muster.

The sound of a flaming tail smacking rock was rapidly followed by Castor's shout of pain, "Ouch! Snap it!" Plopping down into the grass, Castor rubbed his tail soothingly, trying not to use naughty words over yet another bruise. Ever since seeing Mira use Iron Tail, the Charmander had desperately wanted to learn it. However, Mira's normally asocial behavior pretty much guaranteed that she would say no if he asked. So, he had decided to learn it himself by mimicking her actions and focusing his energy. It wasn't working out so well.

Cora's voice snapped him out of his brooding, "Hey, Castor. What are you doing?"

He didn't bother to look up at her approach, "Nothing much, you?"

Cora flopped onto the grass next to him, an unhappy look on her face, "If you don't count losing my temper at Leal, not much." Castor blinked at her questioningly. Not noticing his gaze, Cora frowned at the rock, "Why does that rock have so many singe marks on it? Have you been hitting it with your tail or something?"

Castor grumbled under his breath, "Or something." Hastily trying to change the subject he said, "Why were you fighting with Leal?"

Cora blushed with embarrassment, "Oh, that was my fault for being so touchy. He mentioned that he didn't think that female Pokemon were suited to the rigors of rescue team work."

Castor stopped rubbing his tail and cocked his head to one side, "But there are rescue teams out there with females on them. Why would he think that?" Cora waved a paw absently, "Not those types of rescues, he meant the stuff that the very first rescue teams did, you know, Aka and Burū?" Castor made a soft 'oh' noise and fell silent. Cora continued to ramble, "I shouldn't have gotten so steamed about it, I mean, the stuff they did back then is mostly legends anyway. But I just hate it so much when I feel like someone is belittling me ... I just kind of lost it."

Castor nodded sympathetically and gazed thoughtfully off into the distance. Motion caught his eye, _what is that?_ Standing up on the tips of his paws Castor strained to see what was shooting their way at incredible speeds. _Is that ... Mira?_ Mira shot out of the grass between them, not even slowing down as she pelted for the village. The other two Pokemon shared a look of confusion before hurriedly following, "Hey! Wait up!"

By the time they had caught up with her in the village, Mira was already speeding off again, this time followed by a worried Healer Miltank and several onlookers. Castor and Cora fell in step with her, "Healer Miltank, what is going on?"

The Milk Cow Pokemon looked down at them anxiously, "Mira and Dale just found a Dodrio runner who was headed this way. According to Mira the poor dear has run herself ragged!" Castor and Cora exchanged glances, _Wow, that ... sounds almost impossible. The Dodrio clan specialize in delivering messages because of their unshakable endurance, to leave one of them exhausted. How much nonstop running would that even take?_

His questions, and that of everyone else, had to wait until Healer Miltank had successfully restored the poor Dodrio's energy levels enough to talk. "Now," soothed the gentle Pokemon, "take a deep breath and start from the beginning, dear."

The Dodrio did as she was told, each head taking a large gulp of air before looking around urgently. The middle spoke first, "Where is Una Blastoise or Balfour Venusaur? I have an urgent message for them that must be delivered as soon as possible!" Castor heard Cora gasp, _those are her parents. This cannot be good._

Cora stepped forward, "They had a clan meeting to attend and haven't come back from it yet. Can you give the message to me? I'm their daughter." The middle head blinked in surprise while the other two heads looked at each other in alarm.

The right head glowered at Cora and snarled, "No! We were told to give the message to Una or Balfour only, not to some-" The left head's sniffle broke off her rant.

The left head burst into tears, her sobs interrupting her words, "But ... but the message ... matters ... just as much ... to her as to them! It ... it's so important! We ... we have to tell someone!"

The middle head promptly pecked her two counterparts, sparking rage from the right head and more tears from the left. "Quiet both of you! Our orders were to deliver the message to the next of kin and she is perfectly qualified!" _Next of kin? Has something happened in Cora's clan?_ The middle head turned to Cora and eyed her sympathetically, "You have two brothers in the Wartortle Rescue Squad correct? Arroyo and Bo?" Cora nodded, her eyes growing wide with worry, the Dodrio continued, "Well ... they've ... gone missing."

Cora's screech made Castor's ears vibrate painfully, "Missing? Where? Why?"

The Dodrio's left head shrank away, "We don't know! The Captain said they were investigating robberies in Meiro Woods when they disappeared four days ago! We were sent two days ago to find and tell his parents that they had gone missing and that the Wartortle Rescue Squad is doing everything they can to find them! I'm sorry, but we don't know any more then that!" Castor blinked, _two days ago? No wonder the Dodrio is exhausted! I wouldn't have thought even their clan could cover that much distance so quickly!_

Cora grabbed the middle head by the neck and frantically shook it, "How can you not know more? My brothers are missing! Where are they?"

The right head glared at Cora, "Hey! Let go of that head! I'm the only one who gets to abuse her!"

Castor ran forward and worked on loosening Cora's death grip while Healer Miltank worked on keeping the right head from savagely pecking the distraught squirtle, "Cora, strangling her won't do any good! You need to calm down so we can get all of the facts!"

Cora reluctantly released the middle head, flexing her small paws worriedly as the middle head took several gulps of air. When the middle head could finally speak again, she said weakly, "I'm very sorry dear, but that really is all we know. Your brothers went missing near the center of the woods and they are being looked for at this very moment. Please, do not worry your head over it too much, Captain Wartortle is very skilled, he will no doubt find them soon."

The right head barked out a harsh laugh, "Hardly! I heard that the two idiots were planning to search one of the Kuro Caves right before they disappeared. They're sure to dead by now, wandering the tunnels as lost souls just like all of the others who ever went in there-ouch!" Both of the other two heads, even the timid left one started pecking their counterpart fiercely, scolding her to keep quiet about stupid legends with no ground to them.

Cora looked ready to break down in tears, Castor fought off the shudder that ran through him at the thought of the Kuro Caves and lightly patted his friend's shoulder, "Don't listen to the right one. She was just trying to get back at you for grabbing the middle head."

Cora turned her head to look at Castor, trying to blink back tears of worry that threatened to spill out of her large chocolate colored eyes. She nodded weakly, "Right ... you're right. I just..." With a small sob, Cora latched onto Castor, threatening to squeeze all of the air from his lungs. _Need air!_ Fighting the urge to squirm, Castor gently patted his best friend's hard shell, trying to comfort her in the hopes that she might loosen her death hug.

Aside from Cora's sobbing and the Dodrio infighting, a heavy silence of grief and horror reigned supreme amongst the small gathering. One voice suddenly broke the silence, "What are the Kuro Caves?" The shock of someone needing to ask made everyone look, even Cora. Mira's ears flattened slightly at becoming the center of attention.

Sekani blurted shrilly, "You don't **know**? How could you not know? Everyone knows about the Kuro Caves, everyone! There is not a single Pokemon in existence that doesn't know about those horrible, cursed, dark, dank, wet, hopeless, uninhabitable, stuff of nightmares caves!" The Aipom looked about to continue his rant when Mira sparked her cheeks dangerously, her eyes glinting with an almost murderous quality. Sekani shrank back, "Oh, um except of course, you. Very good question, very intelligent question to be sure. You see, the Kuro Caves are ... are ... uh, Dale?"

If the situation hadn't been so grim, Castor would have laughed out loud at Sekani's obvious ignorance after a speedily delivered rant on how 'everyone knew'. Dale shot Sekani a hard look before answering Mira's question, "The Kuro Caves are a collection of strange anomalies in the island landscape left over from the legendary Dark Times. There is one in every region, usually located near the heart of it, except for the capital of our island, Kōken'nin Mountain. The Kuro Caves are supposed to be sealed off by strange gates said to be made out of Aggron armor. However, recent earthquakes and the natural process of erosion have worn the gates down sufficiently enough that some of the Caves are once again open to the rest of the island."

Dale looked over at Cora comfortingly, "However, I can't think of any Pokemon who would willingly go in there, so the chances of your brothers being inside are almost completely impossible. Besides, they are merely caves, I highly doubt they are actually cursed. If it makes you feel better, we could go look for your brothers ourselves, I was raised in Meiro Woods, so I know the area well."

Much to Castor's inward relief, Cora let go of him in favor of running over to Dale and sealing **him** in her iron hug instead, "Really? Oh, thank you, Dale!" The Dodrio, who had finally stopped fighting, reached over and tapped Castor lightly with a talon, "Hey, Charmander, nice work comforting her. Well, I've got to go, now. More messages to deliver!" She was running off before Castor could say a word, _That's it? Cause consternation for one of my best friends and then just leave? What a jerk!_

Turning back to Cora, Castor lightly patted her shell, "Don't worry Cora, we'll find them."

Cora sniffled and looked up at him, "You mean that you're coming too?" Castor placed his paws firmly on his hips, "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't go?"

Leal made his way to stand beside him, nodding his head nobly, "Indeed! I would be sorely remiss if I did not help a friend and lady in need! I would be honored to accompany..." his voice trailed off as something dawned on him, "Of course, I can only accompany you if Mira does. I am still bound by honor to follow her. I am deeply sorry, Cora."

Castor looked over his shoulder at the Pikachu and raised an eyeridge at her, "So what do you say, Mira? Want to come?"

For five long seconds she simply stared at Cora, her expression unreadable. Then, a strange quirk formed on her lips, as if she was trying to smirk but couldn't, "Long trip, strange Pokemon, cursed caves, and missing siblings? When do we start?"

Healer Miltank chose that moment to interrupt, "Now wait a minute!" She huffed and glared down at them, "Don't speak nonsense, a trip like that is far too dangerous! Your parents would never forgive me if I simply let you go! No, you will all stay here and let Captain Wartortle do his job, understood?"

Castor shrank back a little bit, his pride injured at the insinuation that they couldn't take care of one another on a long trip. _This could be a problem._ "No." He looked up at the word. Cora was standing at her full height, glaring at Healer Miltank, her eyes blazing fiercely, "You have no right to stop us, Healer Miltank. All of us are old enough to go on a Discovering. Dale, Mira, and Leal are already on theirs! You didn't stop us from going to Kasai Desert to get help for this village, how is Meiro Woods any different? We can **do** this and we will. No if, ands, or buts, Healer Miltank, not even from you." Silence hung in the air, Castor felt his heart skip and flutter slightly, _whoa. I don't think I've ever seen Cora like this._

Sekani's voice broke the silence, "Besides Healer Miltank,** I'll** be there to keep an eye on them."

Castor spun to look at the Aipom, "Did you just ... volunteer for something potentially dangerous?"

Sekani nodded, a 'I'm going to regret this' look in his eyes, "Friends stick together ... besides, if Dale's going I don't have much choice now do I? Might as well look heroic about it." Castor smiled lopsidedly, _will wonders never cease?_

Ahanu, who had arrived at some point in the discussion piped up, "So it's settled! We all go, right?"

Castor nodded firmly and turned to face Healer Miltank, who looked thoroughly disgruntled, "Well, Healer Miltank? You can't say no to all of us. Besides, if you do, then we will all simply go on a Discovering to Meiro Woods."

Seeing that there was no dissuading the seven Pokemon, Healer Miltank reluctantly gave in, "Since I can't really stop you ... I'll get some supplies ready for your trip. When do you plan on leaving?"

All eyes swung to Cora, who looked mildly embarrassed at being the leader for the moment, "Today, as soon as possible." Healer Miltank sighed and nodded before heading back to her den to gather supplies. The gathering of villagers who had overheard all of this followed her, chattering excitedly about the newest bit of gossip they could now spread like wildfire to the other residents of Nagai Kusa.

* * *

Cora adjusted her bag strap nervously, her thoughts flitting hither and thither like rebellious butterflies. On one paw, she was ready to run to the gates of a human city if that was what was necessary to rescue her two favorite brothers. On the other paw, she was terrified.

She was the littlest sibling of the family, the one who always stayed near the den and contentedly played in the pond, the one who had been happy to explore as long as she wasn't alone. In short, of all the siblings in her family, she was the **last** one to be on a rescue mission, let alone starting it in the first place. _It's okay, breathe Cora, just focus on breathing. You've gone on adventures before, you thought that bringing Digletts back to help the village was impossible but we did it. Finding those two bone headed brothers of mine should be no problem whatsoever. Right?_ "Cora," Cora jumped in surprise and looked over her shoulder. Mira was standing there, perched on her hind legs so that she was eye level with the Squirtle. Cora found her eyes drawn to the scar on the Pikachu's face, inwardly wondering how she had gotten it. _Mira said she didn't remember, but thought is was an electric attack most likely._

Mira spoke again, bringing Cora back to reality, "Are you ready?"

Cora nodded, "Of course I'm-"

Mira cut her off, "Are you ready?" she repeated.

Cora had a feeling that there was a special meaning behind those words, but couldn't grasp it. Shaking off the feeling, Cora lifted her head, "I'm ready."

Mira studied her for a long moment before nodding curtly, "Then let's go." Mira trotted past and Cora let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. _Why do I feel like I've just undergone a test?_

Leal approached her next, an enthusiastic smile on his face, "Madam Cora! We are ready to set off and find your brothers!"

Cora smiled back a little bit hesitantly, "Then let's be off." The next ten minutes were spent in goodbyes as the seven Pokemon trekked off in the direction of Meiro Woods, followed by what seemed to be the entire village.

When they reached the absolute edge of village and the other villagers had said their goodbyes and returned home, Healer Miltank stepped forward and looked down at Castor with fond eyes. Reaching into a small bag that she had been carrying, the Miltank produced a strange golden string of loops. It was called a chain if Cora remembered correctly. Dangling from it was a small, multicolored jewel, "Here Castor, I believe you should wear this on your journey." While Castor protested and Healer Miltank gently insisted, Cora studied the jewel in fascination. It was beautiful, a strange mix of dark blue, light green, and vibrant yellow with an abnormal marking in it's center that vaguely reminded her of the silhouette of a curling flame. _Didn't Castor wear something like that the day of the celebration?_ Healer Miltank finally convinced Castor to wear it with the promise that she would keep the larger one safe and the company of Pokemon set out to find Cora's brother.

As the village faded from sight and the Grasslands stretched before them, Castor looked over at Cora, his paw fiddling with the jewel absently, "Hey, Cora?"

She shook away her worried thoughts and tilted her head to one side, "Yeah?"

Castor opened his mouth to say something, paused, then seemed to rethink it. He smiled at her and said, "Don't worry about your brothers, with me wearing this on our journey, we're bound to find them safe and sound."

Cora blinked, now very curious as to what the jewel was, "Really?"

Castor nodded and clasped her paw reassuringly, "Really."


End file.
